Mark Olmstead

Mark Olmstead is an international award winning children’s author/singer/songwriter and poet on a mission of making a positive difference ‘one song- and one story- at a time’. His Best Indie Book Award winning “Adventures of The True Sunbeam” coloring book and full color picture book are interactive social emotional learning tools to help kids' build self-esteem and confidence.

Mark's concerns about the effects of our changing world on young people has inspired his passionate creativity. Today, parenting has become the most critical, and, the most difficult job it has ever been! Knowing that kids are our future, Mark's desire is to support parents in preparing kids for the challenging road ahead with gratitude journaling skills, a strong connection to the important people in their lives and a good "remembering who they are" skillset.

After struggling from being bullied early on in school, Mark's teenage years brought some healing moments in the mountains above Baker, Oregon with only John Denver's music and his motorcycle, or his horse "Nubbins" for company. He loved traveling with his family in a converted school bus listening to cassette tapes his mom had made from her Elvis, Glen Campbell, and Englebert Humperdink records. Clearly, Mark's musical roots were planted... on the road!

As a young man in the Air Force stationed in Germany, Mark won third place in the base talent show with his first original song. After his honorable discharge, he began busking on the streets of Germany, and Austria, then worked a freight ship to play all over New Zealand and Australia for two years supported only by his music. Now Mark global experience with writing and music is used to create stories and songs that empower young people and bring families closer together.