Craig Lancto

Craig Lancto is a veteran teacher and journalist, who taught high school English, journalism, and drama for more than 20 years. In the early-80s he began contributing to a variety of publications, mainly on topics relating to education. In the mid-80s, he hosted radio and cable TV talk shows in the Metropolitan DC area, where he, for 15 years, also wrote a popular weekly opinion column for a string of newspapers.

In the mid-90s, Craig became a freelance writer and editor. In 1999 he accepted a position at The Washington Times, where he coordinated newspaper-education programs, consulted with local school systems, taught media literacy, and wrote and edited two or three pages a week on issues relating to education. He also served as a home-school evaluator and consultant.

His educational guides and tabloids have been used by newspapers throughout the country. Many are available on TeachersPayTeachers.com.

In 2002, Craig accepted the position of education editor at The World & I Magazine, where he contributed articles and wrote a monthly teaching guide to complement each issue. In 2005, the magazine ended its 18-year run and Craig returned to freelancing and writing and editing special publications for The Washington Times.

In 2005, he served as executive editor and publisher of the Sun Newspapers of Alexandria (Virginia). In 2008, he also became executive editor of The Alexandria Times.

Craig has enjoyed working as a travel writer, and as a theater and restaurant critic for a number of newspapers, often under pseudonyms.

As the newspaper business declined, Craig applied his media experience to a new position as deputy chief of outreach and director of communications and media relations at the Defense Department's Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies. He was proud that he was able to memorize his position and the name of that organization in less than a week.

In 2014, Craig moved to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, where he has served as the District 5 representative and chairman of Page County's Economic Development Authority, the District 5 representative to the County Planning Commission, Page County board member for Lord Fairfax (now Laurel Ridge) Community College and as vice-chair of Seniors First, the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging.

Craig is the author of more than a dozen books and more than 4,000 published articles, columns, articles and features. He has also begun publishing serialized stories on Amazon's Vella platform as he works to complete books about Native American/English colonist relations, beginning before the Pilgrims' arrival in 1620 and ending with the attack on Deerfield during Queen Anne's War in 1704, which will be included in his Kindred Spirit series.