Mitch Albom Biography

Fast Facts

• Earned the right to Best News Story by the Associated Press in 1985
• Recipient of the Associated Press' 2010 Red Smith Award
• Co-founded the non-profits The Dream Fund, A Time to Help and S․A․Y․ Detroit
• Attended the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and the Columbia School of Business
• Earned his undergraduate degree in sociology from Brandeis University in 1979
• After initially freelancing for various magazines after college such as Sports Illustrated, he would eventually earn his first permanent columnist position in Ft․ Lauderdale and later be named the lead sports writer for the Detroit Free Press
• His first book, a biography of Bo Schembechler, would eventually become his first bestseller after being released in 1989
• Interested in music since childhood, he continues to write and perform to this day
• Began to stray from sports writing in the late '80s after his bosses at the Detroit Free Press asked him to contribute to other areas of the publication
• Rose to international acclaim following the publication of "Tuesdays with Morrie" in 1997
• Used his profits from "Tuesdays with Morrie" to pay off the medical bills for his beloved friend Morrie Schwartz