Keith Stern has been telling the life stories of prominent people for nearly thirty years, reaching an audience in the millions on the Internet and in print. His encyclopedic collection of 900 mini-biographies, QUEERS IN HISTORY, was published as a trade paperback by Benbella Books in 2009, and has been a perennial seller since it first appeared as a digital book in 1993. A new version has been released as an iOS and Android app.
Stern has produced some of the most popular biographical websites on the Internet. Since 1997 he has been collaborating with Sir Ian McKellen on that actor’s autobiographical website, McKellen.com. He also has also produced websites for Sean Astin (SeanAstin.com), Andy Serkis (Serkis.com), the late Lynn Redgrave (Redgrave.com), Salli Richardson-Whitfield (SalliRW.com), Spinal Tap (SpinalTap.com, since taken over by MGM), Gods and Monsters (GodsAndMonsters.net) and others for movie stars and movies.
Stern started in the music business as a musician followed by several years with Warner Bros Records in field promotion, public relations, A&R, and IT. In 1979 in Charlotte, North Carolina, he transformed “The Milestone” into a showcase punk rock/new wave music venue and in 1981 with Ben Clark, he opened a larger venue “Viceroy Park.” As an independent promoter, he produced many early concerts for punk/new wave acts including R.E.M., The Ramones, The Go-Go’s, Iggy Pop, Bow Wow Wow, and Joan Jett.
In 1993 Stern published Queers in History on CD-ROM, one of the first “new media” titles to be sold through bookstores. The contents included biographies of hundreds of historical personages who were gay, lesbian, or bisexual. It also included a trivia game, “Queeries.” A new, completely revised edition of Queers in History was published by BenBella Books in 2009.
Stern has written a feature-length screenplay, Freezing Time, based on the life of pioneering photographer Eadweard Muybridge which will be directed by Andy Serkis (THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE HOBBIT).
