Keith Stern has been telling the life stories of prominent people for nearly twenty 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 will be released as an iOS app in June, 2013.
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).
Stern is writing and producing a feature film adaptation of Tim Kurek's true story as told in his book THE CROSS IN THE CLOSET.
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