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Karen Berger - by Mary Dodaro

Please scroll to the bottom of this bio to see my most recent Suite101 articles.

Karen Berger is a writer focusing on travel, the outdoors, the environment, global health, music, and the business of being self-employed. She is the author of 15 books, including Backpacking and Hiking: An Eyewitness Companion (DK, 2005), which has been published in American and European editions in 12 languages. Her most recent book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Piano Exercises was published by Alpha Penguin in January, 2011. She is the founder and editor of www.BucketTripper.com.

Outdoors Writing

In the outdoors realm, Karen is known as an international expert on hiking, backpacking, and adventure travel. She has earned her reputation with footsteps -- literally millions of them -- having completed the so-called "Triple Crown" (thru-hikes of the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail) and having trekked more than 17,000 miles on 6 continents. In addition to hiking, she has had worldwide experience scuba diving, horseback riding, kayaking, climbing, and skiing. She is the author of Trailside's Scuba Diving (W.W. Norton), an instructional book used to train new scuba divers. She blogs about hiking at the Hiker-Writer blog.

Her work has included:

• Contributing editor for Backpacker
• Hiking expert for GORP.com
• Parks and outdoor activities expert for Away.com
• "Outdoor Smarts" columnist for Scouting magazine
• Technical adviser to PBS's Trailside television show
• Technical adviser to Grollier's Encyclopedia.
• Television and radio appearances including local television news programs and radio programs such as nationally syndicated shows for NPR , Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, and Outside magazine.
• Instructional videos and a podcast on long-distance hiking
• Lectures and slide shows for such venues as Mensa meetings, local schools, environmental and hiking groups, high-country alpine huts, and the Smithsonian.

Travel Writing

Karen's many interests -- music, history, environmental issues, cuisine, arts, language, and culture -- inform her general interest travel articles, which have ranged from learning Swahili in Zanzibar to reviewing French hotels to swimming with sharks to visiting iconic music cities.

Her travel stories have appeared in Backpacker, Islands, Robb Report, Family Circle, National Geographic Traveler, Westways, Texas Journeys, the New York Times, New England Travel and Life, Weight Watchers, Child, AMC Outdoors, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, Virtuoso's Travel+Life, France Guide, Scouting, Out Here, Forbestraveler.com, GORP.com, Away.com, Epic.com, TravelClassics.com, USAToday.com, MSNBC.com, Weather.com, Heathymagination.com, and other major Internet and print markets.

Music Writing

Karen also writes about music and music education for Suite101. She studied classical piano at Northwestern University, and jazz in New York. She runs a home piano teaching studio, gigs, records, and writes about music. She is the author of three books on music, and blogs on music education related subjects at Musical Resources.

Self Employment and Small Business Management

Having been self-employed for 20 years, Karen shares her knowledge about business issues for writers and self-employed creatives through her articles for Suite, a book on running a music teaching business, and a blog about how artists can survive and thrive in the creative economy (CreateWorkLive).

Disclosure: While most of my travel articles are based on self-financed independent trips, I occasionally accept subsidized travel if the destination coincides with my editorial goals. There is no implied quid-pro-quo for positive coverage: Regardless of how a trip is financed, I try to bring back the most objective and useful information possible so you can make the right decision about your upcoming adventures. All of the articles I post at Suite101 are based on first-hand experiences. I have visited every destination I write about and personally tested all the gear I evaluate -- Karen Berger