Writer. Photographer. Raconteur Colleen Thompson Born and raised in sunny South Africa, Colleen Thompson is an award-winning writer & photographer with over 1,000 bylines. She is based between Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Wilmington, North Carolina. Colleen currently writes, edits, photographs, plans, sources, and develops content for several US and Canadian print magazines, newspapers, digital publications, and clients. She is also Editor in Chief of Cape Fear Living Magazine. A 2019 Folio Award recipient for editorial excellence for her story "Strength & Perseverance: The Shackleford Banks Wild Horses" and a judge for the 2020 - 2024 Eddie & Ozzie Publishing Awards. In A u gust 2020, she published her first book, " Monkey Weddings & Summer Sapphires . " She was recently inducted as a Dame and member of Les Dames D'Escoffier International and is a 2024/2025 board member of the North Carolina Chapter. In 2024 she received an induction into Chaîne des Rôtisseurs the International Association of Gastronomy. Completing a degree in Theatre Arts, she started her career in publishing, working for the politically charged Tribute Magazine in the turbulent days of apartheid in Johannesburg, South Africa. Learning from some of the most passionate and influential South African journalists and photographers, who risked everything to tell a story, she developed a love of writing. She was a features writer for several consumer lifestyle publications before becoming editor and eventually publisher of the largest-selling pop-culture publication in South Africa, Top Forty Magazine. For over a decade, she interviewed 150+ international bands and musicians, from The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson to Depeche Mode and Coldplay. She returned to university in 2004 to earn a degree in Environmental Science, enabling her to combine her love of writing with her love of oceans and coastal landscapes. All the while sipping wine and completing her wine sommelier qualifications, reaching the level of Cape Wine Master. In 2006 she relocated to Canada and joined the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Nova Scotia. As part of the Coastal Division, she researched and published The Gulf of Maine in Context and The Scotian Shelf in Context for the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Gulf of Maine Council, respectively. In 2016 with a passionate belief in social upliftment and environmental stewardship, she co-founded cause marketing advertising agency General Public Inc. The roster of clients includes The Romeo Dallaire Child Soldiers Project, ISANS, Canadian Cancer Society, Doctors Nova Scotia, Ronald McDonald House, and Innovacorp. She continues her role here as Editorial Director. A love of cooking, food, and wine always formed a backdrop to much of her life, but she found its proper place living in Nova Scotia. The wild coastlines, the abundance of wild edibles, and the connection to the sea have all been a source of endless inspiration. Following the sun and warm ocean waters, she discovered Wilmington, North Carolina. The ancient live oak trees, draped in Spanish moss, have permanently captured her heart. The Port City, with its history and folklore intimately tied to the Cape Fear River, the complex Southern foodways, and the familiar smells of her childhood like, jasmine, honeysuckle, and gardenias, keep her coming back. She splits her time between Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and Wilmington, NC, USA. You can reach Colleen for writing and photographic assignments @ thompson2202@gmail.com She is not on Facebook or X because life is too short.

Colleen Thompson Writer. Photographer. Raconteur Shimmer In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. Amid a world and in a time that so readily gives us reasons to despair, the golden hour, on a wild walk, is still the most reliable wellspring of light. Shimmering days seemingly help dissipate the self-involvement with which we humans often live through our turbulent times.

Colleen Thompson Writer. Photographer. Raconteur Shack Life A place that ever was lived in,” wrote Eudora Welty, closer to a hundred years ago now than not, “is like a fire that never goes out. It flares up, it smolders for a time, it is fanned or smothered by circumstance, but its being is intact, forever fluttering within it, the result of some original ignition. Sometimes it gives out glory, sometimes its little light must be sought out to be seen, small and tender as a candle flame, but as certain.”

Colleen Thompson Writer. Photographer. Raconteur Photography I take photographs to evoke a sense of place. Images that tell their own stories and stir emotions. Images with roots. For me, food is one of the greatest storytellers, whether in the form of a recipe, a freshly picked piece of fruit or a wild edible foraged in a forest. The harbinger of the seasons, captured in a moment. I am happiest in wild, open spaces and I spend a lot of time chasing the light. Fortunately, where I live in, there is no shortage of wild coastline and magical light. SHACK LIFE SANCTUARY SUGARED SEEDED SHIMMER SHOWCASED

Colleen Thompson Writer. Photographer. Raconteur Sanctuary Distinctly Southern. It's just there," said William Faulkner in explaining why religion appeared so often in his novels and stories. . A tangible part of the Southern landscape. . Endlessly fascinating to me. I stand as a complete outsider. Peering into this complex, spirit-driven culture. Where people are still passionate and unashamedly open about their faith. I am merely chasing the light.

Colleen Thompson Writer. Photographer. Raconteur Libations The art of a crafted cocktail and the storytelling that often accompanies it, inspires a large portion of Colleen's work. She is a wine sommelier, who loves exploring the history of wineries and distilleries. She develops cocktail recipes for several publications, including New York drinks bible - Chilled Magazine. She can be found interviewing and spending time with winemakers, distillers, mixology masters and libation innovators, or creating her own cocktails using wild edibles and exotic teas. Beyond Terroir Wild About Gin Buzz-Free Bevies Add Some Punch Tis Apple Season Sparkling Wines of Summer Zero Proof A True Expression of Rioja An Augmented Wine Reality North Carolina Bourbon.png JOLO Vineyards Wine Making Through a Pandemic North Carolina Gins You Should Be Sipping Heroines of the Cork A Pride of Place Future Looks Bright Chef Ludo's Tasing Menu Swapping Poltics For Spirits Uncorking NC Wines Crooked Fox Pina Coladas Iteration of Pink A Japanese Philosophy Beyond Taste Broken Shed Vodka Tea Cocktails

Colleen Thompson Writer. Photographer. Raconteur Serenity Let’s have tea. Let’s have galaxies, let’s have earthworms, let’s have sorrow and tenderness, and let us pour and receive the bottomless mercy that life has for us in our foolishness, our failures, and our most secret longings. In return, let us forgive the world for being the world, let us allow all things to be forgiven, to be blessed, just for a moment, just for the duration of a cup of tea.

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Colleen Thompson Writer. Photographer. Raconteur South In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. Amid a world and in a time that so readily gives us reasons to despair, the golden hour, on a wild walk, is still the most reliable wellspring of light. Shimmering days seemingly help dissipate the self-involvement with which we humans often live through our turbulent times.

Colleen Thompson Writer. Photographer. Raconteur Sugared

COLLEEN THOMPSON WRITER.PHOTOGRAPHER. RACONTEUR TELLING STORIES. TAKING PICTURES I favor food, which often involves wild edibles and foraging. I admire the art of a crafted cocktail and the storytelling that accompanies it. A qualified wine sommelier, I love wine without pomp and ceremony. If there's a wild beach I'm in my happy place and I'm always in search of new ones. I can usually be found writing, cooking, beekeeping, foraging, taking pictures and chasing the light in one of my three favorite places: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Cape Town, South Africa and Wilmington, North Carolina. My first book, "Monkey Weddings & Summer Sapphires ," is out now.