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 famous for writing books about sports and history. His most well-known book is "Strong Inside". This book tells the story of Perry Wallace. Perry Wallace was the first African-American to play college basketball in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He played at Vanderbilt University in the 1960s.

"Strong Inside" became a best-seller on the New York Times list. It was popular in both sports and civil rights sections. The book also won the 2015 Lillian Smith Book Award. It received a special award from the Robert F. Kennedy Book Awards Foundation.

Andrew Maraniss went to Vanderbilt University in 1992. He had a special scholarship for sports journalism. He won an award for excellent journalism there in 1992. In 2016, he joined the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame. Vanderbilt also named him their "Writer-in-Residence" in 2017. Because his book was so popular, he became a full-time author. Before that, he worked in public relations. 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 won a Pulitzer Prize and works for The Washington Post.

Andrew's Early Life and Family

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

Andrew's father, David, has been an editor at The Washington Post since 1977. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting in 1993. This was for his stories about Bill Clinton during the 1992 presidential election. Andrew's father once said that Andrew was always very mature. When Andrew was young, his family moved a few times for his father's journalism jobs. They lived in New Jersey and then in Washington, D.C. As a kid, Andrew sometimes went to press conferences with his dad. Later, when Andrew was in high school, his family moved to Austin, Texas.

Andrew's Education and Early Career

In high school in Austin, Andrew was the sports editor for his school newspaper. He also got a job writing sports articles for a local newspaper. He saw a poster about a college scholarship for sports writing. He applied for it using his articles.

His writing helped him win a Fred Russell-Grantland Rice Sportswriting Scholarship. This allowed him to attend Vanderbilt University in 1988. A famous sportswriter named Fred Russell started this scholarship. He would often have lunch with the scholarship winners. This tradition continued even after Andrew graduated. After college, Andrew worked as a sports information director for Vanderbilt basketball.

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 did the interview and wrote papers and articles about him. Andrew remembered feeling like he was learning so much from Wallace. He said Wallace was the most impressive person he had ever met.

After college, Andrew worked in media relations for Vanderbilt Athletics. Then he moved to Tampa to work for a baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays. Later, he returned to Nashville and worked for a public relations company. He became a partner there for 18 years.

Andrew wanted to write a book, just like his father. He was looking for a good topic. At a family gathering, his family reminded him of his old articles about Perry Wallace. The idea clicked! Wallace was a great subject. He was 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 night and on weekends. It took a long time, but he did over 80 interviews. He even found a statement from Wallace from 1968. In it, Wallace described how small things could become a "nightmare" for a Black player. 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 many book signings and appeared on TV and radio shows. These included Meet the Press and All Things Considered.

Andrew also created a special version of "Strong Inside" for young people. Its title is "Strong Inside: The True Story of How Perry Wallace Broke College Basketball's Color Line". This youth 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.

After Andrew's book, a documentary film was made about Perry Wallace's life. It is called "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace". The famous actor Forest Whitaker narrates it. This film came out around the 50th anniversary of SEC basketball becoming integrated. It premiered at Vanderbilt University in December 2017.

Vanderbilt University requires all new students to read a book over the summer. This is called the "Commons Reading". The classes of 2020 and 2021 were assigned "Strong Inside".

Awards and Honors

• New York Times best-seller list author (sports and civil rights categories)
• 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 (1992)
• Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame (2016)
• Vanderbilt's "Writer-in-Residence" (2017)
• Top 10 Biographies for Youth and Top 10 Sports Books for Youth (2017, Youth edition) by the American Library Association
• Featured on the Vanderbilt University "Commons Reading List" for incoming students (classes of 2020 and 2021)

List of Works

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