Julie Kliegman: Give People You Respect Opportunities To Show up for You
In this interview, author Julie Kliegman discusses how a reporting assignment led to wanting to write their new biography, Finding Renée Richards.
Julie Kliegman is the author of Mind Game: An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes. They are the copy chief for Sports Illustrated, was a copy editor at The Ringer, weekend editor and breaking news contributor at The Week, and a news fellow at BuzzFeed. They have written for Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post, The Ringer, Vulture, BuzzFeed, Vox, The Verge, Bustle, Washington Monthly, The Week, and other publications. Kliegman is a frequent guest on radio and podcasts, including SportsNet 90 The FAN, Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, New Hampshire Public Radio, BTR Daily Beat, and FM 96.9 The Game. They live in Queens, New York. Follow them on Instagram and Bluesky.
In this interview, Julie discusses how a reporting assignment led to wanting to write her new biography, Finding Renée Richards, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Julie Kliegman
Literary agent: Iris Blasi, Arc Literary Management
Book title: Finding Renée Richards: The Groundbreaking Story of Tennis’s Trans Pioneer
Publisher: HarperCollins HarperOne
Release date: August 18, 2026
Genre/category: biography, LGBTQ+, sports
Previous titles: Mind Game: An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes
Elevator pitch: Transgender tennis player Renée Richards successfully sued for her right to compete in the women’s draw of the 1977 U.S. Open. Nearly 50 years later, what can Richards’s story tell us about the ongoing debate over trans athletes and who gets to be considered a woman in women’s sports?
What prompted you to write this book?
In 2020 I began reporting and writing about transgender athletes for Sports Illustrated. That process helped me get in touch with my own transness. After being commissioned to review a couple of Richards’s books for Bookforum, I got hooked on her story and wanted to learn everything I could about her as I continued to explore everything my own identity to what her lawsuit meant for the present and future of trans people’s right to play sports.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
Idea to publication took just over three years, which felt like a blip. My agent, Iris Blasi, excitedly told me in late June 2023, after she heard me discussing Richards’ life story on the podcast “You’re Wrong About”, that I had a wonderful biography subject on my hands. It took some prodding from her, I’ll admit. I was intrigued, but the thought of wading even deeper into an often-toxic battle over trans rights in sports made me anxious. Once I took the plunge, though, the idea didn’t change much over time, even as the material and storytelling got richer and more complex the more I got to know Richards herself.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I was surprised by how exhausting it has been at times to make sure this book isn’t framed as—or even dismissed as—just a sports book. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sports books. My first book was one, and I am a sports journalist by trade. But I believe Richards’ story is not about tennis volleys nearly as much as it’s about the nature of queerness, celebrity, and womanhood. Happily, my editor at HarperOne, Maya Alpert, is among those who immediately understood the thrust of the biography I wanted to write.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
There were more surprises in the reporting and research processes than in the writing process itself. They were good surprises, though. A former Women’s Tennis Association employee mailed me a thick folder of paperwork and news clippings pertaining to Richards. Two university archives, at Duke and Indiana, held much more information about Richards and those close to her than I initially expected. Those materials added a lot of color and texture to the biography, as did the family keepsakes Richards generously shared with me herself.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope both cisgender and transgender readers come away with a more nuanced understanding of a fascinating and compelling trans elder, whether they remember her story well from 1970s headlines or were coming to it fresh in my book.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Be aggressive in seeking out ways to make the writing process feel less lonely: Don’t be shy about sharing excerpts from your work in progress or talking through your research and craft challenges with trusted friends and industry peers. Give people you respect opportunities to show up for you.
