I’m a freelance journalist in the Bay Area. I also offer copywriting services (web copy, content writing, email newsletters, ghost blogging, print copy). Sometimes I tweet. You can reach me at shelby@shelbypope.com and if you want occasional updates on what I’ve been writing and my current enthusiasms, subscribe to my newsletter.

Some highlights:

• “The ‘extreme extrovert’ on a mission to make you love ping pong” (The Guardian) My profile on Adam Bobrow, perhaps the world’s only full-time table tennis commentator.
• “Billionaire’s 2005 ‘Almanack’ of sage advice finds an audience in S.F. tech world” (San Francisco Chronicle) Why did a 12-year-old book suddenly attract 65 holds at the San Francisco Public Library?
• “These women surf the biggest waves in the world. They have a month left to make history” (The Lily) For the first time, women could compete in the famed Mavericks competition — but will the waves cooperate?
• “The Electric Forest Acid Testers” (Pacific Standard) Your ecstasy is actually bath salts, your coke is actually meth, your LSD is actually a dangerous new research chemical. The Bunk Police don’t care if you do drugs—they just want you to test them first.
• “The Mozart of Fly Casting” (The New York Times) Maxine McCormick began fly casting when she was 9 years old. At 14, she has back-to-back world titles.