Marty Essen

Essen was born in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. He attended Duluth East High School and University of Minnesota Duluth.

Essen worked as a radio announcer at WEBC-AM and KQDS-FM. In 1982, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he ran two music talent management agencies, National Talent Associates and Twin City Talent. In 1996, Essen moved to Montana to found Essen Communications Corporation, a local telephone company, and later became an author and a college speaker. His first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet, became a Minneapolis Star-Tribune Top-10 Green Book. He performs a live college show, Around the World in 90 Minutes, based on Cool Creatures, Hot Planet. One adventure, documented in both his first book and his live show, is surviving a hippo attack in Zimbabwe. Essen's nature photography is featured prominently in his books and live show. His outdoor photographs are also in Deb Essen's book, Easy Weaving with Supplemental Warps: Overshot, Velvet, Shibori, and More. Magazines publishing his photos include Reptiles Magazine and Handwoven Magazine. Essen's three nonfiction books advocate for protecting endangered species and the environment, and his six fiction books are comedies that advocate for the protection of human rights and the environment.

Essen resides in Montana and is married to weaving designer and author Deb Essen.

Essen has been touring the United States, performing Around the World in 90 Minutes, at hundreds of colleges since 2007.