Andrew Maraniss facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Andrew Maraniss
Andrew Maraniss in August, 2022
Citizenship	U.S.
Education	Vanderbilt University
Genre	Sports, biography
Notable awards	2015 Lillian Smith Book Award
Relatives	David Maraniss

Andrew Maraniss is an American author. He is well-known for his books about sports and history. His most famous book is Strong Inside. It tells the story of Perry Wallace. Perry was the first African-American college basketball player to get a scholarship. This happened in the Southeastern Conference at Vanderbilt University in the 1960s.

Strong Inside was on the New York Times best-seller list. It stayed there for four months. The book won the 2015 Lillian Smith Book Award. It also received a special award from the Robert F. Kennedy Book Awards Foundation.

Andrew Maraniss attended Vanderbilt University in 1992. He had a special scholarship for sports journalism. He won an award for excellent journalism there. In 2016, he joined the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame. He was named Vanderbilt's "Writer-in-Residence" in 2017. The success of Strong Inside helped him become a full-time author. After Strong Inside, he wrote other books. These include Games of Deception (2019), Singled Out (2021), and Inaugural Ballers (2022). Andrew's father, David Maraniss, is also a famous writer. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Andrew Maraniss's Early Life

Andrew Maraniss was born in Madison, Wisconsin. His parents, David and Linda Maraniss, met in high school there. His grandfather, Elliott Maraniss, was an editor for a newspaper in the 1970s. His grandmother, Mary Maraniss, was a book editor.

Andrew's father, David, has been an editor for The Washington Post since 1977. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for his reporting. Andrew's father said Andrew was always very thoughtful. When Andrew was young, his family moved from Wisconsin to New Jersey. Later, they moved to Washington, D.C. Andrew sometimes went to press conferences with his father. When Andrew was in high school, his family moved to Austin, Texas.

Andrew Maraniss's Education

While in high school in Austin, Andrew was the sports editor for his school newspaper. He also worked as an intern writing sports articles for a local newspaper. He saw a poster about a college scholarship. He sent in his articles to apply for it.

His writing helped him win a scholarship to Vanderbilt University in 1988. This was the Fred Russell-Grantland Rice Sportswriting Scholarship. The famous sportswriter Fred Russell would meet with the scholarship winners. This tradition continued until Russell passed away in 2003. At Vanderbilt, Andrew became the sports editor for the college newspaper. After graduating, he worked for Vanderbilt basketball as a sports information director.

Writing Strong Inside

In 1989, when Andrew was 19, he read an article about Perry Wallace. One of his professors suggested he interview Wallace. Wallace was a law professor in Baltimore at the time. Andrew interviewed him and wrote papers and articles about Wallace. He remembered feeling inspired by Wallace.

After college, Andrew worked in media relations for Vanderbilt Athletics. Later, he worked in public relations in Tampa and then Nashville. He wanted to write a book. At a family gathering, his family reminded him of his old articles about Perry Wallace. Andrew realized Wallace would be a great subject. Perry Wallace was not just a basketball star who broke racial barriers. He was also a top student, an engineering major, and later a law professor.

Andrew had a full-time job, so he wrote his book at nights and on weekends. He did over 80 interviews for his research. He even found a statement Wallace made in 1968 about his experiences. Andrew and Wallace became good friends through their many interviews.

The book was published by Vanderbilt University Press. It became the best-selling book in their history. Andrew said it took seven years to find a publisher. After the book's success, Andrew was very busy. He did book signings and appeared on many TV and radio shows.

Andrew also created a version of the book for young people. It is called Strong Inside: The True Story of How Perry Wallace Broke College Basketball's Color Line. This edition was named one of the Top 10 Biographies for Youth in 2017. It was also a Top 10 Sports Book for Youth by the American Library Association.

A documentary film about Perry Wallace's life was made. It is called "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace." The film was narrated by Forest Whitaker. It premiered at Vanderbilt in 2017. Vanderbilt University asked for the film to be made.

All new students at Vanderbilt are asked to read a book before their first semester. This is called the "Commons Reading." The classes of 2020 and 2021 were assigned to read Strong Inside.

Awards and Honors

• New York Times best-seller list author in both sports and civil rights.
• 2015 Lillian Smith Book Award.
• Special Recognition Award by the Robert F. Kennedy Book Awards Foundation.
• Fred Russell-Grantland Rice Scholarship for Sports Journalism.
• Charles Foster Alexander Award for excellence in journalism in 1992.
• Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame, 2016.
• Vanderbilt's "Writer-in-Residence" in 2017.
• Top 10 Biographies for Youth and a Top 10 Sports Books for Youth of 2017 (Youth edition) by the American Library Association.
• The Vanderbilt University "Commons reading list" for all incoming students (classes of 2020 and 2021).

List of Books

• Strong Inside (2015)
• Games of Deception (2019)
• Singled Out (2021)
• Inaugural Ballers (2022)