Writer · Publisher · Founder of Pharos Terminal

Experience over theory. For families who teach at home.

Zac Northup has taught students in high schools, career tech centers, and universities. Now he writes and publishes curriculum for homeschoolers, micro-schools, and learning pods.

See Pharos Terminal Explore Reality Writes!

Pharos Terminal opens November 2026. Grades 7–12.

Zac Northup with students and a costumed historical interpreter in a historic apothecary.

Reality Writes! · Open-and-go curriculum

Your student writes and publishes a novel.

A self-paced curriculum that ends with a published book. Students choose a real historical subject, research it, write a novella of 18,000 to 25,000 words, design the cover and layout, and publish it as a paperback on Amazon.

Reality Writes! is intended for 11th–12th graders, and advanced students no younger than 8th grade.

Explore Reality Writes!

Pharos Terminal · Opens November 2026

Dynamic lessons. Every week.

You teach. Pharos Terminal provides lessons relevant to today's world, and keeps your records while you do.

Grades 7–12. Opens November 2026. $399 per student per year.

1
Discover
Nexus Points: real events worth teaching, each scored 0 to 100 for your student by Teaching Value.
2
Teach
Ready-to-teach lesson packets in nine subjects, tagged to West Virginia standards, plus Reality Writes! Modules 1–2.
3
Track
The parent tracker logs lessons, hours and work samples, then builds your year-end portfolio.

Apply for the beta See Pharos Terminal ›

The Pharos Terminal parent tracker: lessons finished, hours logged, work samples filed and West Virginia standards covered, with recent lessons listed by date. — Screens from Pharos Terminal, with a sample student and sample data.

The Pharos Terminal dashboard on a phone. — Screens from Pharos Terminal, with a sample student and sample data.

See how it works

The West Virginia State Capitol at night with an America 250 banner and a lit fountain

Get the Free WV 2026 Election Guide

What's on your ballot, how to vote, and lessons to teach at home before and after November 3.

Free from Pharos Terminal. We'll email you a link to confirm your address, then send the guide straight to your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime.

Zac Northup, smiling, in a color close-up portrait.

Meet Zac

A published writer since 1996.

Published under his own name and for ghostwriting clients.
Novels, short stories, novellas, academic curricula and ghostwritten family histories.
Publisher and managing editor of National Guard Review, 1996–2003.
Most recent commission: a family history for former U.S. Representative David McKinley, covering 1650 to 1783.

About Zac See his books ›