STEVEN M. NEWMAN
Steven Newman is known to many as the "Worldwalker." He is the only person in history documented to have walked solo around the earth. From 1983 to 1987
the journalist trekked across 21 nations on five continents, all the time sharing his adventures
with his one million newspaper readers. Later, Japan would be added to the list of his
walking adventures.
A man of many talents, Newman has found numerous ways to incorporate his overseas
experiences and communications skills into a vocation. Due to the popularity of the
"Worldwalker" stories, he was asked to do a series of books: Letters From Steven(1987), Worldwalk (1989), and the co-authoring of Guardians of Yellowstone (1991). Worldwalk was selected by both the prestigious Literary
Guild Book Club and by Waldenbooks as one of that year's Main Selections.
The journey and the books have resulted in Steven being a guest on over 100 television and
radio talk shows, including Larry King, Good Morning America, TODAY, CBS This Morning,
NPR's "All Things Considered," and The Voice of America. In addition, he has been the
subject of feature-length articles in such publications as People Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Walking Magazine, The Weekly Reader, and even the National Enquirer.
Over 1,300 groups -- mainly schools and corporations -- have requested his services as a
speaker. His humorous encounters with this world's unusual persons and places have led
many to compare Steven to his favorite author, Mark Twain. And while Steven loves to make
his audiences laugh, he also makes sure he leaves all -- young and old -- with inspiring lessons
in having a dream, setting goals, being motivated, and building self-esteem. Indeed, in his
long list of well-known clients is the National Geographic Society. It has had Steven
share his journey's adventures with several of our nation's inner-city schools.
For the contributions he has made to his home state of Ohio and to its youth, Steven has received many prestigious honors. They include: the Governor's Award, Ohio's highest; the Medal of Merit, Ohio University's highest; the Award For Peace and
Human Understanding from Capital University; and even the keys to several cities, including only the second ever awarded by historic Xenia, Ohio.
Ohio's Ambassador of Natural Resources, Steven was just recently awarded the Ohio
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's highest honor, the Trailblazer Award, for blazing the path of a new hiking/biking trail that will stretch from the Ohio River to Lake Erie.
Steven and his wife Darci, a middle school teacher, reside in rural Brown County. Set amongst a setting as beautiful and peaceful as many of the faraway places Steven wandered across, their historic property overlooking the Ohio River is the perfect spot for a dreamer.