State

Agate Midway
Melissa Isaacson
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  • APPEALING, COMMERCIAL TOPIC WITH CROSSOVER APPEAL: Sets an appealing sports narrative similar to Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights and Blais’s In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle against the backdrop of radical social change, to create a story that will resonate with those interested in sports, inspirational memoirs, and women’s history.
  • TRAILBLAZING, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR: Isaacson is a veteran journalist with thirty years of experience as well as an important figure in sports journalism—she was the first woman columnist and beat writer to cover the Chicago Bears and Bulls for the Chicago Tribune, and has a proven track record following her previous books Sweet Lou and Transition Game
  • POWERFUL STORY WITH BREAKOUT POTENTIAL: Author’s blend of engaging narrative storytelling with in-depth reporting puts the reader inside a moment of dramatic, heartwarming social change
  • TIMELY TOPIC WITH WIDE MULTIGENERATIONAL APPEAL: Inspirational story will appeal to the women who lived through the Title IX era as well as to younger women, as the story deals with the same issues society faces today&mddash;gender discrimination, inequality, and the ongoing fight for women’s rights
  • BOOK CLUB POTENTIAL: Accompanying reading-group guide includes discussion questions and a Q&A with the author
Contributor Bio

Melissa Isaacson is an award-winning sportswriter, author, and public speaker. In more than thirty years on the job, she has covered every major US sports championship as well as the Olympics. She has written for numerous publications, including long tenures at such institutions as ESPN and the Chicago Tribune. She was the Tribune’s first woman columnist and beat writer on the Bulls and Bears, and she covered the Michael Jordan–led Bulls over their six NBA titles. She is currently on the faculty of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism and lives in the Chicago area. Teacher resources for State.

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