About Graham B Spanier:
GRAHAM SPANIER served as president of The Pennsylvania State University from 1995 to 2011. His previous positions include chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Oregon State University, and vice provost for undergraduate studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He served as chair of the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, and the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. He served on the National Counterintelligence Working Group, the Board of the Naval Postgraduate School and U.S. Naval War College, and was chair of the National Security Higher Education Advisory Board. A family sociologist and marriage and family therapist by training, he play is a magician, a musician, and was a television talk show host for more than two decades.
What inspires you to write?
My personal experience and the desire to create an accurate historical record. In the Lions’ Den tells the true story of a scandal at Penn State University that unfairly resulted in the firing of the nation’s most successful and admired collegiate football coach and the respected president of the university. The book chronicles a criminal justice system run amok, political vindictiveness and retribution, moral panic, and the influence of a twisted media narrative. It is, in short, the anatomy of a smear, a memoir told by the university president who lost his job after an outstanding career in higher education. The story, which is so outlandish that it would be impossible to make up, involves villains and heroes, fear and bravery, the rehabilitative value of friends and family, and coping with adversity.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
Malcolm Gladwell, Gay Talese, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Tell us about your writing process.
I worked as a journalist, writer of op-eds and magazine features, was radio announcer and television talk show host during my career, so I write much as a journalist would.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Through consultation with agents and advisors, finally deciding on a self-publishing route where I have more control over format, timing, length, price, and distribution.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think there will be fewer commercially published books, more mergers and acquisitions, and more books published privately.
What genres do you write?: Memoir, non-fiction, academic research and textbooks
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
Graham B Spanier Home Page Link
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