Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher King.
Hi Christopher, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Originally from Chesterfield in the Pee Dee area of South Carolina, I moved to Columbia in 2011 as a freshman at the University of South Carolina. While at USC, I started getting involved with the school’s quiz bowl team, and I also created a puzzle club that put on puzzle events for students. While earning degrees in math and geography, I started playing trivia in Columbia and started trivia writing, eventually leading to my starting my own business, Palmetto Trivia LLC, in 2018. Since then, I’ve continued my puzzle and trivia hobbies, and it’s been wonderful meeting the people who like to be in those circles.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Part of my pitch to venues is that I can provide a full array of general knowledge covering all the categories. I love The Office, Disney, and Star Wars, but I also like history, science, sports, and other subjects. There’s a lot of trivia, especially themed around pop culture. I think of it as the reason why millions of people tune in to “Jeopardy!” daily. It’s often a tough sell, but I’m glad the places that stick with us will have returning customers week in and week out.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Besides my writing trivia questions for local venues, I’ve had wonderful opportunities to have questions and puzzles I’ve written published in many places. I’ve been a crossword constructor since high school. I’ve published crosswords on both my blog and Chris Words and had the opportunity to write several crossword puzzle books for Callisto Media publishing. In 2022, I had the opportunity to write a weekly crossword puzzle for the Charlotte Ledger, an online newsletter in North Carolina, where I got to write puzzles with clues about SC’s neighbor to the north. In the world of trivia, my greatest achievement has been getting to work on the BBC quiz show “Only Connect” for five seasons. Described by theringer.com as “TV’s hardest quiz show on either side of the Atlantic,” It involves lateral thinking, wordplay, and classic trivia knowledge. It is truly the greatest feeling for me to see my name in the credits of an episode of one of my favorite shows (and I loved the show even before I started working for them!). Palmetto Trivia is surely the only trivia company in SC that has questions written by a professional game show writer. I bring that professionalism with each game of trivia I write for the fine folks of South Carolina.
What do you think about happiness?
I love learning, and one of the reasons why I love doing Palmetto Trivia is the ability to share that learning with an audience. Thanks to the clues in the question, my questions are often written so you can figure out an answer, even if you don’t know it immediately. Seeing teams figure out those clues and come up with the right answer is fantastic to see as a host. And no matter what, players are exposed to stuff they might not have ever seen if it wasn’t playing trivia that night. There has been a rise of ignorance in recent years, and seeing friends spend part of their week coming to a venue and then getting rewarded for knowing something about movies, science, books, or television is wonderful. I enjoy a balanced life of watching TV, playing board games, visiting friends and family, traveling to new places, and spending time with my girlfriend. Getting out there and wanting to learn and try new things is one of the greatest pleasures in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: palmettotrivia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palmettotrivia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palmettotrivia
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PalmettoTrivia
Image Credits
Chris King
