Stefan Fatsis
Encyclopedia
Stefan Fatsis (ˈstɛfən ˈfætsɨs; Greek
: Στέφανος Φάτσης; born April 1, 1963) is an author and journalist. He regularly appears as a guest on National Public Radio's All Things Considered
daily radio news program and as a panelist on Slate's sports podcast Hang Up and Listen. He is a former staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal
.
. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1985 with a degree in American Civilization. He was a staff writer for the Daily Pennsylvanian as an undergraduate. From 1985 to 1994 he was a reporter for The Associated Press in Athens, Greece; Philadelphia; Boston and New York. He wrote about sports for The Wall Street Journal
from 1995 to 2006.
He is the author of three books: Wild and Outside: How a Renegade Minor League Revived the Spirit of Baseball in America's Heartland (1995); Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players
(2001), about the subculture of tournament Scrabble
, in which Fatsis immersed himself as a player; and A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL
(2008). That book was published in paperback with the abbreviated title A Few Seconds of Panic: A Sportswriter Plays in the NFL (2009). Fatsis trained as a placekicker and spent the summer of 2006 as a member of the Denver Broncos
during the team's training camp (similar to the premise of George Plimpton
's 1966 book Paper Lion
).
Fatsis's work also appears in several anthologies: Top of the Order: 25 Writers Pick Their Favorite Baseball Player of All Time (April 2010), The Final Four of Everything (2009), Anatomy of Baseball (2008), The Best Creative Nonfiction Vol. 2 (2008) and The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything (2007). He also writes or has written for The New York Times
, the New York Timess defunct Play magazine, Sports Illustrated, SI.com, Slate, The Atlantic, The New Republic
.com, Deadspin
and other publications.
He lives in Washington, D.C.
with his wife, All Things Considered
co-host Melissa Block
, and their daughter.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Στέφανος Φάτσης; born April 1, 1963) is an author and journalist. He regularly appears as a guest on National Public Radio's All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
daily radio news program and as a panelist on Slate's sports podcast Hang Up and Listen. He is a former staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
.
Biography
Fatsis grew up in Pelham, New YorkPelham, New York
Pelham, New York is the name of two locations in Westchester County, New York:*Pelham , New York, the Town of Pelham*Pelham Manor , New York, the Village of Pelham Manor*Pelham , New York, the Village of Pelham...
. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1985 with a degree in American Civilization. He was a staff writer for the Daily Pennsylvanian as an undergraduate. From 1985 to 1994 he was a reporter for The Associated Press in Athens, Greece; Philadelphia; Boston and New York. He wrote about sports for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
from 1995 to 2006.
He is the author of three books: Wild and Outside: How a Renegade Minor League Revived the Spirit of Baseball in America's Heartland (1995); Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players
Word Freak (book)
Word Freak is a non-fiction narrative by Stefan Fatsis published in 2001 .The book is subtitled Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive SCRABBLE Players...
(2001), about the subculture of tournament Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
, in which Fatsis immersed himself as a player; and A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL
A Few Seconds of Panic
A Few Seconds of Panic is a nonfiction first-person narrative by Stefan Fatsis, published in 2008. The book chronicles Fatsis, a professional 43-year old sportswriter working for the Wall Street Journal, and his attempt to play in the National Football League. Along the way, he relates the personal...
(2008). That book was published in paperback with the abbreviated title A Few Seconds of Panic: A Sportswriter Plays in the NFL (2009). Fatsis trained as a placekicker and spent the summer of 2006 as a member of the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
during the team's training camp (similar to the premise of George Plimpton
George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
's 1966 book Paper Lion
Paper Lion
Paper Lion, published in 1966, is a non-fiction book by prominent American writer George Plimpton.In 1960, Plimpton, not a professional athlete, arranged to pitch to a lineup of baseball stars in an All-Star exhibition, presumably to answer the question, "How would the average man off of the street...
).
Fatsis's work also appears in several anthologies: Top of the Order: 25 Writers Pick Their Favorite Baseball Player of All Time (April 2010), The Final Four of Everything (2009), Anatomy of Baseball (2008), The Best Creative Nonfiction Vol. 2 (2008) and The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything (2007). He also writes or has written for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the New York Timess defunct Play magazine, Sports Illustrated, SI.com, Slate, The Atlantic, The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
.com, Deadspin
Deadspin
Deadspin is a sports website owned by Gawker Media and was launched in September 2005. As of February 2010, the site had attracted over 462 million unique visitors and about 573 million page views....
and other publications.
He lives in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
with his wife, All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
co-host Melissa Block
Melissa Block
Melissa Block is an American radio host. She is one of the hosts of NPR's All Things Considered news program.-Biography:Block was recording an interview in Chengdu, China when the area was struck by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake. Her coverage of the earthquake earned NPR a George Foster Peabody...
, and their daughter.
External links
- Stefan Fatsis's website
- Stefan Fatsis's profile page (National Scrabble Association)
- Stefan Fatsis's tournament statistics (cross-tables.com)
- Lindsay, Drew. "Stefan Fatsis: Inside a Player's Mind", Washingtonian, June 1, 2008.