KEVIN FEDARKO
Kevin Fedarko has spent the better part of the past twenty years writing about adventure, conservation, exploration, and the Grand Canyon. He studied Russian history at Oxford before joining the staff at TIME, where he worked primarily on the foreign affairs desk, then later moved to Outside Magazine, where he was a senior editor. His writing has appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, and Esquire, among other publications, and a trio of his stories from the Himalayas, the Horn of Africa, and the Colorado River are anthologized in The Best American Travel Writing. Fedarko, who lives and works in Flagstaff, Arizona, is the author of The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon, which recounts the true story of a small wooden dory and three river guides who in the summer of 1983 pitted her against the largest flood to sweep the Colorado River in generations with the aim of setting an unbreakable speed record. The book, lauded as “a masterpiece of literary nonfiction” by the Oklahoman and “a work of jaw-dropping scope and page-turning action” by Southwest Books of the Year, won the National Outdoor Book Award and the Reading the West Award, was a finalist for a PEN Literary Sports Writing Award and the Banff Mountain Book Award and became a New York Times bestseller. It is regarded as an essential text for those who revere the Grand Canyon. Kevin’s latest book A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon, about his 14-month death defying odyssey through the Canyon with National Geographic photographer Pete McBride, also was listed as a New York Times bestseller, also won the National Outdoor Book Award, and received the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.
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PETE MCBRIDE
Pete McBride is an award-winning photographer, filmmaker, writer, and speaker known for his powerful storytelling at the intersection of adventure and environmental conservation. Born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Pete has spent over 25 years capturing the planet’s most awe-inspiring landscapes and natural wonders from Everest and Antarctica to relocating African elephants and swimming with orca in the Arctic.
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A National Geographic Explorer, Adventurer of the Year and Sony Artisan of Imagery, McBride has worked in more than 75 countries, combining his skills as a visual storyteller and filmmaking to spotlight pressing environmental issues, particularly those involving water scarcity, public land protection, and climate change. His photography and writing have appeared in National Geographic, Smithsonian, Time, Outside and many others. He is a frequent speaker at corporate conferences, performing art centers and stages from TEDx and Pixar to the World Economic Forum.
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His 750-mile trek through the length of the Grand Canyon became the basis for the Emmy-nominated documentary Into the Canyon and his celebrated book The Grand Canyon: Between River and Rim, which won a national outdoor book award. His more recent books, Seeing Silence, and Chasing Water, also won national outdoor book awards and his latest narrative book, Witness to Water, is a two-decade-long, personal narrative of the Colorado River. Wild Silence, his first children’s book, comes out this November.
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In 2025, McBride was given The Ansel Adams Award for a lifetime achievement in conservation photography.
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In December, MPSF welcomes Kevin Fedarko and Pete McBride for an unforgettable evening of storytelling, exploration, and insight from one of the world’s most iconic landscapes. Together, they bring audiences inside their extraordinary journey through the Grand Canyon—blending adventure, conservation, and firsthand perspective. As part of the live, in-theater MPSF experience, this dynamic conversation will inspire curiosity, deepen appreciation for the natural world, and spark meaningful dialogue.