Media professor Karl Beckstrand is the bestselling and award-winning author/illustrator of 22 multicultural/multilingual books and more than 60 ebook titles (reviews by Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, School Library Journal, The Horn Book’s blog, ForeWord Reviews).

Raised in San Jose, CA (he knows the secret to peeling avocados), he has a B.A. in journalism from BYU, an M.A. in international relations from APU, and a broadcast/film certificate from Film A. Academy.

Since 2004, he has run Premio Publishing. His survival western, To Swallow the Earth, won a 2016 International Book Award. Beckstrand has presented to Taiwan’s Global Leadership for Youth, city and state governments, festivals, and schools. His nationally lauded Y.A. stories, ebook mysteries, nonfiction, Spanish/bilingual/ESL, wordless, career, and STEM books feature ethnically diverse characters—and usually end with a twist. His work has appeared in: Amazon, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Costco, Deseret Book, Follett, iBooks, Ingram, Papercrafts Magazine, Target.com, The U.S. Congressional Record, and Walmart.com