Tom Stienstra

Tom Stienstra (born 1954 or 1955)[1] is an American author, outdoorsman and columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.[2][3] He produces a radio feature for KCBS in San Francisco, and hosted and co-produced a television special for PBS on the Tuolumne River. He has written several guide books for California, the Pacific Northwest and America.[4] He has won several awards from the Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Tom Stienstra
Born
Palo Alto, California, US
OccupationOutdoor writer

Early life

Stienstra grew up in Palo Alto, California, where he graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1972.[5] He received his degree in journalism from San Jose State University.[6]

Career

Stienstra published his first story at age 8, "Searching for a Lost Friend", in the Palo Alto Times.[7] After earning his degree, he became a sports reporter there.[6] In 1979, when the Palo Alto Times merged with the Redwood City Tribune and became the Peninsula Times Tribune, he was promoted to sports columnist.[6] In 1980, he was hired to write about the outdoors for the San Francisco Examiner,[8] which at the time operated jointly with the Chronicle.

Since 2000, he has produced and broadcast a radio feature for KCBS in San Francisco, and appears frequently as a live guest expert.[9] He hosted the TV show The Great Outdoors for CBS-CW networks[10] and in 2017 hosted and co-produced with Jim Schlosser a national PBS special, The Mighty T -- The Tuolumne River, from Glacier to Golden Gate.[11]

Books

Stienstra has written many books, including many No. 1 bestsellers in their categories. Among them, Moon California Camping was released in its 22th edition in spring 2022,[12] and Moon Pacific Northwest Camping, was listed in the Portland Oregonian as a No. 1 bestseller.[10]

In 2012 he published a novel, The Sweet Redemption, An Inspector Korg Mystery.[13]

Awards

Stienstra's film on the Tuolumne won the 2017 Northern California Area Emmy Award for Health / Science / Environmental Special.[14][15]

In 2022, his book 52 Weekend Adventures[16] was awarded second place as best outdoor book of the year by the Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA).[17]

Stienstra is one of the OWAA's most awarded members. In 2015, he became the first four-time winner of its President's Award as "Best of the Best", when he won best story of the year in the Newspaper/Website division.[18] The winning entry was "Paddling with giants", published in the San Francisco Chronicle on August 5, 2014.[19] To become a finalist for the President's Award, that story won first place in the Outdoor Fun and Adventure Category of the Newspaper/Website Contest.[20] In 2017, when he won the President's Award for best outdoors television show for his PBS special on the Tuolumne, he was the only member to win simultaneous first-place awards in newspaper, radio and television.[15] In 2018, he won 1st Place, Outdoor Recreation Photo of the Year for "A world apart on the marsh".[21] He won the association's highest award, the Enduring Excellence Award, in 2021,[1][22] the first writer from California to do so.[10]

Stienstra was the fourth living member inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame.[23]

Personal life

Stienstra survived a hatchet attack when he was 21, which gave him insights into post-traumatic stress disorder as well as the healing and fulfillment of being in the outdoors.[24]

In 2015, he married Denese Stienstra, with whom he has two stepsons;[10] they live in Siskiyou County. In August 2021 he was diagnosed with metastasized melanoma and underwent brain surgery.[1]

References
  1. Stienstra, Tom (February 22, 2023). "Tom Stienstra's tales of survival". San Francisco Chronicle.
  2. "Tom Stienstra bags travel writing award". Sfgate.com. June 10, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  3. "Tom Stienstra wins Outdoor Journalism Awards at the National Level". Owac.Org. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  4. "Avalon Travel". Travel Matters.com. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  5. "Palo Alto High School Class of 1972 Alumni, Palo Alto, CA".
  6. "Iconic columnist and guidebook author has shared his adventures in California and the West for 30 years". Adventure Sports Journal. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  7. Gauvin, Pete (July 2010). "Tom Stienstra: Ambassador to the Outdoors". Adventure Sports Journal. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  8. Stienstra, Tom (June 30, 2020). "10 life-and-death moments in 40 years in the outdoors". San Francisco Chronicle.
  9. "Tom Stienstra".
  10. "About Tom Stienstra". Tom Stienstra Outdoors. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  11. "ViewFinder | the Mighty T - Tuolumne River | Season 22 | Episode 12". PBS.
  12. "Moon Northern California Camping - Hachette Book Group". www.hachettebookgroup.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017.
  13. The Sweet Redemption: An Inspector Korg Mystery: Kindle edition. Wild Earth Press. December 14, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  14. "46th Annual Northern California Area Emmy Award Recipients Announced" (PDF) (press release). Emmy Awards San Francisco. June 3, 2017.
  15. "Chronicle's Tom Stienstra wins awards". SFGate. July 1, 2017.
  16. Fish, Peter (July 8, 2021) [June 28, 2021]. "Datebook: Tom Stienstra shares favorite spots in '52 Weekend Adventures' just in time for summer fun". San Francisco Chronicle.
  17. "2022 Excellence in Craft Award Winners". Outdoor Writers Association of America. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  18. Stienstra, Tom (July 14, 2015). "Chronicle's Tom Stienstra wins top outdoor writing award in nation for record 4th time - Tom Stienstra's Outdoors". Blog.sfgate.com. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  19. Stienstra, Tom (August 5, 2014). "Paddling with giants: Humpback whale spectacle in Monterey Bay". SFGate. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  20. Sadler, Tom (July 24, 2015). "Six OWAA contest winners judged 'best of the best'". Outdoor Writers Association of America. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  21. "Stienstra photo named best in the nation by outdoors group". San Francisco Chronicle. June 10, 2018 [June 9, 2018].
  22. "Enduring Excellence Award Winners". Outdoor Writers Association of America. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  23. "Welcome". Cal Outdoor Shall Off Fame.Org. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  24. Stienstra, Tom (February 19, 2017). "Dog at your side, peace in your heart". San Francisco Chronicle.
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