Grant Overstake is a Kansas-born author, journalist, and creative producer whose work explores personal growth, social justice, and the emotional resilience of teens coming of age in the American heartland. A former Miami Herald journalist and USATF All-American track and field athlete, he infuses his writing with grit, integrity, and personal experience.Raised in Wichita, Kansas, during the Civil Rights era, he came of age on the stark dividing line of that redlined, segregated city. His novel, The Real Education of TJ Crowley, draws deeply from that turbulent period and his own formative experiences: a father's absence, a mother's long-term illness, schoolyard fights, academic struggles, and the forging of friendships with classmates and teammates who looked different.Grant began his writing career at the age of eighteen as a part-time reporter for The Wichita Eagle. He later earned a scholarship to the University of Kansas School of Journalism, where a sports feature he wrote for The Daily Kansan won a William Randolph Hearst Award, often called the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism. After graduating, he joined The Miami Herald, a newsroom known for producing bestselling authors.Grant's novel, grounded in his personal history, is inspired by a several-decade-long question that lingered in his mind. When a Black family moved in next door, his own family chose white flight. Quickly shunning their new neighbors, they fled before even knowing their names. As an adult, that moment in time became a personal reckoning.Over the course of a decade, Grant revisited his memories of that period and began intensive research of the era before and after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. He drew insight from community stories, a new friendship with the Brown family, and his years singing with the ARISE Ensemble. Through fiction, he asked the haunting question: what if his family had stayed in their home? Drawing from his personal journey, he infused the story with themes of harmony, healing, and hope for a brighter future.Grant's debut novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, is a beloved coming-of-age sports story celebrating Title IX, perseverance, and girl empowerment. Championed by Olympic athletes, it was named by CITIUS Mag as one of the best track and field novels of all time. USA Today columnist and bestselling author Christine Brennan called Maggie "a warm, uplifting story for girls and the families who support them."Beyond his writing, Grant is a dedicated teaching artist who has led creative workshops and school assemblies for thousands of students, from elementary classrooms to graduate seminars. A lifelong athlete, he continues to excel and compete in masters track and field alongside his wife, Claire. Together, they were honored with the global "Couples Spirit Award" at the 2020 Virtual Worldwide Masters Athletic Challenge Championships.Learn more at GrantOverstake.com