Karl Beckstrand
Karl Beckstrand is the award-winning and bestselling author of 19 multicultural titles and more than 50 e-books (reviews by Kirkus, The Horn Book’s blog, School Library Journal, ForeWord Reviews). Beckstrand earned a B.A. in journalism from BYU, an M.A. in international relations from APU, and a certificate from Film A. Academy. Formerly a technical recruiter in Silicon Valley, Beckstrand’s early work was produced by small publishers (his first publisher died the day they were to print his book!). Since 2004 he has guided Premio Publishing & Gozo Books.
An engaging presenter and workshop facilitator, Beckstrand has experience in high tech, marketing & design, public policy, film & broadcasting. He teaches media at a state college—including TV/radio/film scripts and Web content—and contrasts traditional publishing with digital book publishing. His Y.A. fiction, short stories, kids’ e-book mysteries, nonfiction/biographies, Spanish & bilingual books (with ESL/ELL pronunciation guides), and wordless books feature characters of color and usually end with a twist. He has lived abroad, been a Spanish/English interpreter, and speaks on diversity. He enjoys volleyball and kayaking (usually not at the same time).
Beckstrand has presented for SUECON (education conference), Taiwan’s Global Leadership for Youth, California's Capital Book Festival, Utah Educational Library Media Association, Called to Learn conference, Salt Lake City Book Festival, PCI Webinars, Utah Humanities Council, Profnet, Murray City Writer’s Workshop, Utah Housing Coalition, LUW, Midvale City Reading Program, Utah Office of Education, professional groups, and schools. His work has appeared in: Amazon, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Border’s, Costco, Deseret Book, Follett, iBooks, Ingram, Kobo, LDS Film Festival, Papercrafts Magazine, Target.com, The Children’s Miracle Network, The Congressional Record of the U.S. House of Representatives, Walmart.com, various broadcasts, and PremioBooks.com. Find: “Karl Beckstrand” on FB, Twitter, KarlBeckstrand.com, and https://karlbeckstrandblog.wordpress.com/
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW, SPEAKING, & CONSULTATION
Speaker topics:
"Getting Your Book to the World - Traditional vs. Digital publishing"
"Entrepreneurship: Bless Lives, Make Money with Your Gifts"
"Artistic Education - How the Humanities Enrich Us"
"Writing Scripts for Shows, Film, Ads & the Web"
"Writing for Media: News Stories & Press Releases that Get Attention"
"How Diversity Enriches Everyone"
"Making Habit Work for You - Replace the Bad with Milestones"
