Neal Thompson Email & Phone Number

Seattle, Wa, Us

Seattle, Washington, United States

Research and write full-season episode scripts for Wondery's hit podcasts American History Tellers and Against the Odds. Seasons include The Titanic, The Pinkerton Detective Agency, The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, First Ladies, Great American Authors, Hawaii's Journey to Statehood, Presidential Assassinations, and more. Contribute to content planning and series development.

Seattle, Washington, United States

In 2020, I left Amazon to write my sixth book, THE FIRST KENNEDYS: The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty, which was published in 2022. I spent 2022-2023 promoting the book, including a John F. Kennedy Library Forum, appearances at the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Kennedy Summer School in New Ross, Ireland, and articles for People magazine, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and more. The book was named a best of 2022 by Amazon and NPR.During my sabbatical period, I also taught creative nonfiction at Seattle's Hugo House (2020); launched a Substack newsletter (bloodandwhiskey.substack.com) featuring crime fiction reviews and cocktails (2021); consulted on corporate philanthropy/social impact (ongoing); started writing podcast scripts for Wondery (2022); and began researching and writing a new book (2023).

Greater Seattle Area

As a core member of dynamic Amazon in the Community startup team, I led/managed community partnerships, corporate grant-giving to nonprofits, employee engagement and volunteer initiatives. Projects included childhood hunger awareness campaign (Rise & Smile); partnering with Seattle's Alliance for Education to develop a "Right Now Needs Fund" for Seattle school kids; developing and launching first-ever company-wide employee engagement and volunteer strategy, program and platform. Focus areas: homelessness, hunger, education, equity, literacy. Worked closely with PR, Policy, Books, Legal, Brand + Marketing. Continued to lead Amazon Literary Partnership program, providing grants to nearly 100 literary nonprofits annually. Left in early 2020 to write my sixth book.

Greater Seattle Area

As director of the Amazon Literary Partnership (AmazonLiteraryPartnership.com), I provided grants to authors and nonprofit literary organizations such as PEN America, Lambda, the National Book Foundation, Yaddo, the Asian American Writers' Workshop, Poets & Writers, Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, Hugo House, and Girls Write Now. Led program overhaul (naming, branding, grant guidelines, review committees) and an expanded focus on diversity in storytelling, supporting nonprofits that educate, empower, and publish underrepresented and marginalized writers/storytellers. Managed annual budget of $1M+; negotiated strategic partnerships and sponsorships; conducted outreach to the literary community; represented Amazon at writing conferences and literary events; led creative projects and events; developed content strategies to help authors and storytellers thrive. Launched Amazon Author Insights education blog. Served as volunteer New Hire Orientation coordinator, leading 4-hour presentations welcoming 100s of new hires to company on their first day. Skills: grant making, program management, philanthropic strategy, public/media relations, content acquisition/management, author training and education.

Greater Seattle Area

As manager of the influential Best Books of the Month program, I led the selection and promotion of editorially curated book lists shared with millions of Amazon customers, impacting book sales and boosting authors' careers while generating eight-figure annual sales for Amazon. I redesigned and co-managed the Amazon Book Review (previously Omnivoracious.com), for which I interviewed authors, reviewed books, wrote stories, shot and edited video, and developed social media strategy. Skills: content curation and content management; web analytics; program management.

Greater Seattle Area

During 2+ years on the board, I served on the executive search committee, resulting in the hiring of a new executive director who led a turnaround for the organization; chaired the Governance Committee, overseeing recruitment of new board members; and served on the Programming Committee, assisting the programming director in bringing top authors to SAL's lecture series. I continued to support SAL with grants from the Amazon Literary Partnership, as a patron, donor, and as occasional interviewer (including a sold-out Beneroya Hall interview with husband and wife David Simon and Laura Lippman).

In 2001, I took a book leave from the Baltimore Sun, then left the newspaper in 2002 to write books full time. My first book, LIGHT THIS CANDLE, was published in 2004, followed by DRIVING WITH THE DEVIL (2006, now in development for major motion picture; a 2022 North Carolina Reads book) and HURRICANE SEASON (2007). I have continued to write books (full and part time) ever since, including: A CURIOUS MAN (2013, a PEN Center USA finalist; a PBS American Experience documentary) and the 2018 fatherhood memoir, KICKFLIP BOYS, which Tony Hawk called "An honest account of raising creative, rebellious boys ... moving, raw and relatable.” My six books and I have been featured on/in The Daily Show, NPR, New York Times, People, Wall Street Journal, PBS, Washington Post, History Channel, ESPN, BBC, TNT, FOX, CNN, Parade, and Oprah.com. I've written for Outside, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, New York Times, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, AARP and Men's Health. • “Thompson has given us a compelling and illuminating book” —Jon Meacham • "A gifted, straightforward storyteller" —The Washington Post • "The prose crackles" —The Kansas City Star • "Deliriously entertaining" —Megan Abbott (L.A. Review of Books)• “It's great storytelling" —Timothy Egan• “A rousing page turner" —The Times-Picayune• "Thompson writes with eloquent grace" —The Indianapolis Star • "Neal Thompson has a nose for the strange and wonderful" —Stewart O'Nan • "A profoundly honest book and a true achievement" —Dani Shapiro• "An engaging, fast-moving biography" —The Columbus Dispatch• "A buoyant, boozy tale of American adventure and enterprise" —The San Francisco Chronicle

Asheville, Nc

Taught the "Telling the Truth" creative nonfiction class to aspiring journalists and authors, as part of the University of North Carolina's acclaimed Great Smokies Writing Program, in Asheville, NC.

Baltimore, Md

Spent my final years as a daily newspaper reporter specializing in narratives and investigative stories about sailors, soldiers and spies as military/intelligence writer. Also covered labor, politics, City Hall. Prior full-time newspaper roles at:-The Bergen Record-The St. Petersburg Times-The Roanoke (Va) Times & World News-The Philadelphia Inquirer