David Hirshey

David Hirshey
Born New York, New York
Occupation Book editor, sportswriter
Language English
Nationality American
Alma mater Dickinson College

David Hirshey is an American book editor and sportswriter. The senior vice president and executive editor of HarperCollins from 1998-2016, he was previously an editor for Esquire and the New Yorker. Among others, he has worked with authors including Richard Ben Cramer, Frederick Exley, Richard Ford, Norman Mailer and David Halberstam.[1][2][3]

An expert on soccer, Hirshey co-wrote The ESPN World Cup Companion: Everything You Need To Know About The Planet’s Biggest Sports Event and appeared in the 2006 documentary Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos. He has written extensively on the sport for publications including The New York Times and Deadspin, and since 2010 has written "Kicking and Screaming," a weekly column about the English Premier League for espn.com.[4][5][6]

Early life and education

Hirshey was born in New York City. His father, Max Hirshey, was the president of Swarovski Crystal US and a former youth international soccer player, and his mother, Mara Hirshey, was a writer. David Hirshey graduated with a BA in English from Dickinson College, where he played varsity soccer for four years and wrote a weekly sports column for the student newspaper.[7][8]

Career

Following his graduation, Hirshey was hired as a reporter at the The New York Daily News, where, at 21, he was the youngest sportswriter in New York. In addition to major sporting events, Hirshey covered soccer, and in 1975 broke the story that Pelé was coming to New York to play for the New York Cosmos.[9] Five of his articles over the course of his tenure at The New York Daily News were anthologized in Houghton Mifflin’s annual Best Sports Stories of the Year.In 1978, Hirshey was named editor of the paper’s Sunday News Magazine. In that position, he worked with writers including Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill.[10]

Hirshey was hired as a senior editor for Esquire in 1984 and promoted to articles editor in 1986. At Esquire Hirshey worked closely with writers such as Frederick Exley, Richard Ford, David Halberstam, and Tom Robbins, among others. He edited Richard Ben Cramer’s 1986 profile of Ted Williams, regarded as "one of the greatest pieces of sportswriting ever."[11][12] From 1991 through 1997, Hirshey was the deputy editor of Esquire. In addition to editing long form pieces in the magazine, he oversaw the annual "Dubious Achievement" issue, which was described by the Washington Post as “hands down, the funniest year end issue of them all.” [3][13]

After leaving Esquire, Hirshey was hired as an editor at the New Yorker, where he assigned, developed and edited articles on future trends in politics, science, business, entertainment, culminating with “The Next Issue.” [2]

In 1998, he was named executive editor and vice president of HarperCollins Publishers. Promoted to senior vice president and executive editor in 2007, Hirshey specializes in politics, current affairs, sports, memoir, pop culture, and humor. Among other award-winning and bestselling books, Hirshey acquired and edited Jane Leavy's Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy, Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee, Dan Barry's Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game, which won the 2013 Pen Award for literary sportswriting, and Allen Kurzweil's Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully, the 2016 Edgar Award winner for best crime non-fiction.[1][14]

Personal life

In May 2016, Hirshey announced that he would leave HarperCollins in June 2016 to relocate to Los Angeles, where his daughter is pursuing a career as a television writer.[15]

Bibliography

Selected bibliography as editor

Bibliography as co-author

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 Variety Staff (February 13, 1998). "HarperCollins Taps Hirshey". Variety. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 Kelly, Keith J. (February 23, 1998). "Adding Color to their Lives". New York Daily News. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 Shruers, Fred (August 10, 2015). "Frank Gifford and Frederick Exley: Beyond 'A Fan's Notes'". Grantland. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Newsham, Gavin (May 11, 2006). Once in a Lifetime: The Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos. Atlantic Books. p. 27. ISBN 1843543753. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. ↑ ESPN staff. "David Hirshey: ESPN FC Writers". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Mahler, Jonathan (July 2, 2006). "Disco Inferno: When the Cosmos Ruled the Town". New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  7. ↑ Kimmel, Sherry (June 1, 2003). "Novel Dickinsonia". Dickenson. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Hirshey, David (July 8, 2006). "Four Eyes and Two Whistles". Op Ed, New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Chalmers, Robert (May 4, 2012). "PELÉ IS NOT JUST THE GREATEST EVER PLAYER. HE'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT...". GQ. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Kornheiser, Tony (February 5, 1982). "New York Tabs at War!". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Siegal, Alan (January 8, 2013). "Remember Richard Ben Cramer By Reading His Epic Ted Williams Profile". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Pesca, Mike (January 9, 2013). "Remembering Virtuoso Sports Writer Richard Ben Cramer". NPR. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  13. ↑ Neyfakh, Leon (January 22, 2008). "Beloved Esquire Franchise, 'Dubious Achievements,' Becomes One". The Observer. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  14. ↑ Neyfakh, Leon (December 12, 2008). "David Hirshey Victorious As HarperCollins Beauty Contest For $2.5 Million Sarah Silverman Book Finally Ends". New York Observer. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "Hirshey to Leave HarperCollins". Publishers Weekly. April 26, 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.

External links

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