Karen Gardiner is a freelance writer from Scotland, currently based in the North Country, New York, and who has previously lived in Japan, Chile, the Czech Republic, Iceland and Australia. Her work focuses mostly on travel, culture and art, particularly in northern/Nordic Europe, the Arctic, remote places and cold weather islands.

Her stories have appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, BBC Travel, the Washington Post, National Geographic Travel, Canadian Geographic Travel, Toronto Star, Departures, The Guardian, Saveur, Architectural Digest, Hemispheres, Bridal Guide, American Way, Lonely Planet, The Independent, Public Art Review and more.