Mark Stevenson

about the author

Mark Stevenson

Author of An Optimist’s Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer 'What's Next?'

 

Mark Stevenson is an author, futurologist, and learning and innovation specialist.

His first book, An Optimist’s Tour of the Future, enjoyed wide critical acclaim (“Sharp and fascinating”—The Wall Street Journal) and his fans include Chris Anderson of TED.com (“Stevenson wears no blindfold. His tools are curiosity, open-mindedness, clarity, and reason”) and Nobel Peace Prize–winner Henry Pollack (“It’s invigorating to be led to the far side by someone who sees the bright side”)

Today he combines two careers—one as a successful writer/comedian (writing for TV, radio, and print), and another as a speaker and consultant on institutional innovation, engineered serendipity, and learning. Recent invitations to speak include the U.S. Treasury Executive Institute, Google HQ (Mountain View), Microsoft HQ (Redmond), the Potsdam Research Network, the Wellcome Trust, The British Library (where Mark is curating a weeklong series of talks about the future of innovation), and TEDxBBC. He is cofounder and director of the cultural learning agency Flow Associates (working internationally with cultural organizations) and the science communication agency ReAgency. He is also one of the creators of The Age of Smart, a crowd-sourced model of sharing knowledge, practice, action, and funds with an addressable audience of 100 million of the world’s poorest people. Mark is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

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Featured Book

An Optimist’s Tour of the Future Buy Now

An Optimist’s Tour of the Future

"Out there on the edge of research, Stevenson puts the trends of tomorrow’s world into perspective with a quizzical, fast-paced, quick-witted tour of the scientific horizon."

—The Times (London)

Speaking Topics

  • An Optimist’s Tour of the Future
  • The Scientific Horizon
  • The Narrative of the Future
  • Industrial Innovation and Engineered Serendipity
  • Improving the Way We Communicate and Learn

Testimonials

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  • "Mark's dynamic presentation goes far beyond entertainment as he tackles big picture complex issues, unveiling the essential connections to the everyday and causing the audience an epiphany of vision and attitude." - Chrisstina Hamilton Director, Penny Stamps Lecture Series and Witt Visiting Artist Program, University of Michigan

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