Kari Herbert

Kari Herbert is an author, storyteller, publisher, presenter and speaker. She first started travelling at the age of ten months when her Arctic explorer father and author mother took her to live with the Polar Inuit for over two years, on a remote island off the coast of Northwest Greenland. At the age of four Kari accompanied her parents on another trip that took them through winter blizzards in a caravan to spend time with the Sami of Lapland. Exploration and shaping stories have been her passions ever since.

As a travel writer and editor, her work has been published in magazines and newspapers all over the world, including the Sunday Times, Telegraph, Mail on Sunday, Independent and the Guardian as well as Geographical and Traveller magazines, among others. Kari’s first book The Explorer’s Daughter was published by Penguin and aired as ‘Book of the Week’ for BBC Radio 4. The book tells of her return to the place of her early childhood and her quest to understand her connection to both the polar wilderness and its unique people. Her other books include In Search of the South Pole, Heart of the Hero: The Remarkable Women who Inspired the Great Polar Explorers, and the international bestseller, Explorer’s Sketchbooks. All of her books have been translated into multiple languages. When not writing at her desk she can often be found on assignment, notebook in hand, or on an expedition ship in the Arctic. Kari is also founding director of indie publisher Polarworld, she has been instrumental in creating a discreet, elegant publishing brand, managing bespoke publications.

Kari is a popular and energetic public speaker, who takes her audience on highly-visual journeys from the Arctic to the deserts of Oman. Her presentations are engaging, deeply personal, frank and inspiring. She is a TEDx speaker and has appeared at countless literary festivals and events and has spoken at venues such as the Royal Geographical Society, the British Library, the National Maritime Museum and the Explorers Club in New York, as well as at many schools and universities. She frequently appears as guest speaker on expedition voyages to the polar regions and has just become a Celebrity Guest Speaker with Cunard . Her most challenging talk was given on board an expedition ship crossing the thirty-foot waves of the Drake Passage en route to the Antarctic, with tables, chairs and her audience sliding back and forth across the room!