Emmy-award winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author, and Charleston resident Kate Fagan has a new book on the way. On March 7th, Fagan and co-author – and former WNBA All-Star – Seimone Augustus, will release Hoop Muses, which details the history of women's basketball. The release also features illustrations from artist Sophia Chang.
This book will take readers through time as it begins in the future, in 2072, on the night of the WNBA's 75th Anniversary, as New York Liberty phenom Jacklyn Jones is paid a visit by one of basketball's long-ago greats. This unlikely duo then goes on a roundtrip adventure through basketball history, starting at the very beginning: Springfield, 1891. As the years pass, they learn the roots of the game (think: the first-ever collegiate game between Stanford and Cal, where men scaled the walls for a peek inside, or, the legend of Chicago's Club Store Co-Eds, the all-Black barnstorming squad of the 1930s). As the early 20th century morphs into modern times, they see the game grow, the milestones reached. On their journey, they learn about the teams and the women (along with a few men) who helped build the foundation on which the future will be built.
Fagan is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of What Made Maddy Run, which was a semi-finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting. Her first book was the coming-of-age memoir The Reappearing Act, and her third book, All The Colors Came Out, was released in May 2021. She currently works for Meadowlark Media and co-hosts the podcast Off the Looking Glass. Fagan previously spent seven years as a columnist and feature writer for espnW, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. She was also a regular panelist on ESPN’s Around the Horn and host of Outside the Lines. Kate covered the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons and played college basketball at the University of Colorado. She lives in Charleston with her wife, Kathryn Budig.
Augustus is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. As a player, she was drafted first overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2006 draft. She was an eight-time WNBA All-Star and the 2008 finals MVP. She lead the Lynx to four WNBA championships. In addition to the WNBA, Augustus played for the U.S. national team and overseas.
You can learn more about Hoop Muses at bykatefagan.com.
