Karen Kingsbury

Karen Kingsbury Speaker Biography

Karen Kingsbury is a #1 New York Times Bestselling novelist with more than 25 million books in print. She is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller as her last dozen novels have hit top spot on national bestseller lists. Several of Karen’s books have been the subject of Hallmark movies. In addition, it was recently announced that Roma Downey and MGM Studios are developing a TV series out of 22 of Karen's Baxter Family books.

Karen is also a visiting professor at Liberty University where she teaches a master class on storytelling. She lives in Nashville with her husband and five sons, three of whom were adopted from Haiti. They live nearby to their actress/designer daughter Kelsey who is married to Christian recording artist, Kyle Kupecky. She and Kelsey also have a card and gift line called “Possibilities” which is sold at retail stores everywhere.

Karen was born in Fairfax, VA, the oldest of Anne and Ted Kingsbury’s five children. She was hooked on Dr. Seuss from the first time her dad read her The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Karen had the story memorized by the time she was five.

Karen's family moved often because of her dad’s computer programming job with IBM. Maybe it was the moving that truly underlined her love for reading. In books she found friends she never had to leave.

When Karen was 10 years old, they left Michigan for California, where they lived for the next two decades. She loved Southern California back then and grew up in the San Fernando Valley – a true Valley girl. The beach was just thirty minutes away over Malibu Canyon, and there on the shore of the Pacific Ocean Karen dreamed about being a novelist.