BIO

Lori Hile is a Chicago-based freelance writer and author whose profiles, reviews, and service pieces have been published in a variety of national and regional magazines, websites, and books, including: Hemispheres, Esperanza, Lake Magazine, Time Out Chicago, DePaul Magazine, Michigan Blue, Patch.com, and Hungry? Chicago. She's also written nine nonfiction young adult books for Heinemann-Raintree Publishing: Social Networks and BlogsAnimal SurvivalSurviving Extreme SportsGetting Ahead: Drugs, Technology, and the Competitive Advantage (Ethics of Sports series), BullyingGangs (Teen Issues series), Mermaids, Aliens and UFOs, and The Loch Ness Monster (Solving Mysteries with Science series).

Lori has tackled just about every topic under the sun (including, incidentally, the summer solstice), from the migration of sandhill cranes, to the short-lived proliferation of chocolate cafes in the Midwest, to the thrills and spills of extreme sports. What unites Lori's work is her clear, unique, and humorous voice, combined with resourceful research.

During Lori's 15-year career as an events, PR, and marketing manager for a major multimedia retailer, she also wrote and edited a range of business materials (think press releases, website content, newsletter and ad copy), acquiring the skills necessary to translate corporate jargon into snappy sound bites and 500-word web articles.

Lori comes complete with a two-year graduate certificate in Creative Nonfiction Writing from the University of Chicago, where she was a finalist for the Student Writing Prize. Lori studied at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy and a minor in Religious Studies.

Born outside of Detroit, Michigan, Lori still has allegiance to all things Red (Wings) and Blue (University of Michigan football). When she unglues herself from her laptop, Lori enjoys watching foreign films, taste-testing Thai food, beach-combing Lake Michigan with the world's most adorable nieces and nephew (hers, of course), and soaking in Chicago's live music scene. She's in the process of completing a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification with Global Family Yoga and plans to soon employ her skills overseas.