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Our Writing Credentials

Renée Alexander and Scott Mansfield have been writing about people, places, and culture for more than four decades combined. Read on for a sampling of our stories.

  • Chicha has long been understood to be made with masticated maiz — in other words, corn that is chewed and spit out. After a years-long excavation of an ancient Peruvian brewery burned and abandoned nearly 1,000 years ago, scientists discovered evidence of a more sophisticated method previously thought to have evolved much later. – An Alternative History of Chicha ~VinePair
  • The most favored of these virgins learned ceremonial rites to prepare them to marry Inti (although this, unfortunately, required that they give up their life on Earth) – House of the Virgins of the Sun~Atlas Obscura
  • Our winter welcome to Bolivia wasn’t exactly warm. Barely 24 hours after crossing the Bolivian border, we were arguing with a thief at the Sunday flea market in La Paz. – Welcoming the Return of the Sun to Lake Titicaca ~World Footprints
  • “Seriously? You’re going to relocate 3 million corn producers into some hypothetical other part of the economy, not to mention some other part of the country?” – Want to Understand the Border Crisis? Look to American Corn Policy ~New Food Economy

  • Mexico’s Tourism Board designates certain towns as “Pueblos Magicos,” and San Cristobal is considered to be the most magical of all. – A San Franciscan’s Guide to Chiapas ~7×7

  • We are hot, tired, and hungry when we spot a dhaba, one of the ubiquitous truck-stop eateries found along India’s highways, at half past noon. – The Rewards of the Road ~Saveur

  • For homeless youth like Tiffany Case, forming trusting relationships can be terrifying… – Can Big Data Help San Francisco’s Homeless Kids? ~Vice

  • “Some people are inspired by the spirit of the pechuga. For others, it is absolutely overwhelming.” – The Art of Making Mezcal in Oaxaca ~Vice Munchies

  • “In nature, mushrooms break down all kinds of substances, and we’re just beginning to look at this more closely in the lab and in field studies.” – Oyster Mushrooms Helped Clean Up After California’s Wildfires ~New Food Economy

  • “The target really is the pathogen, and we can use the mosquitoes to get at the pathogen.” – Engineering Mosquitoes to Spread Health ~The Atlantic

  • Never let anyone tell you a partial eclipse is close enough—the difference between 99 percent and 100 percent is the difference between winning the lottery and winning a set of steak knives. – Meet the Solar Eclipse Mega Fans Who Travel the World Chasing a Blackened Sun ~Vice
  • Man and woman planting corn in a field in Mexico.
  • Gateway of the Sun rock formation and archeo-astronomical clock

Our Writing Credentials

Together, we have more than four decades of freelance writing experience. Our stories have been published in local, regional, and national outlets including Vice, Saveur, The Atlantic, 7×7, and many others.

Read our freelance stories.

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Where to find us…

As of September 1, we’ve settled into a small apartment in the Mission District of San Francisco.

We hope to use the time here to catch up on our blogs and some other writing projects.

Suggest Story Ideas

We love story suggestions! Do you know of a food or beverage we should try, a remote village we should visit, or a community leader we should meet?  

Drop us a line at scout@storyscout.org

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