Julie Kliegman

@juliekliegman.com

4236 Followers 926 Following

Copy editor @propublica.org. Author of FINDING RENÉE RICHARDS (2026), a biography, and MIND GAME (2024), about elite athlete mental health. Nonbinary ace. They/them. www.juliekliegman.com

A stack of five paperback press copies of Finding Renée Richards by Julie Kliegman sit spine-out on a brown table.
Bespectacled Billie Jean King and Renée Richards playing doubles at the Lionel Cup as a ballgirl stands in the background.
A book page with the following text highlighted in pink: this taste of tournament play reminded me of how much I missed organized competition. Private play is fun, but it isn’t as spicy as as tournament when everyone is pumped up and you work your way through an orderly series of games to determine who is the best of a large group. I felt so comfortable as Renée that I thought once again; why shouldn’t I have everything I want? I was like Eve in the Garden of Eden but with a tennis ball instead of an apple.
A Polaroid of Renée Richards standing in front of an apartment building.
Renée Richards holding a tennis ball and racket.
The gray and brown cat and the orange cat stand next to each other in a shower, staring up at the showerhead.
An orange cat and a gray and brown cat sit in identical loaf positions on top of a shelf.
A gray and brown cat with a two-toned face sits on a green couch with a front paw extended.
The Instagram profile for @jmkliegman, Julie Kliegman they/them. Bio reads: Writer, editor. Finding Renée Richards (2026), a biography. Mind Game (2024), about how athletes navigate mental health. Nonbinary ace.
The cover of Mind Game: An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes by Julie Kliegman. A basketball player in a blue uniform stands on an oversized rim, looking out into the abyss.
A grumpy ghost in a bakery kitchen says: Ah, you think baking is so easy! No no no, it's an art! It would take you ages to perfect my lemon cake recipe...
A pink cup with strawberry gelato soft serve.
As to competitive fairness, the States contend that allowing biological males to play women’s and girls’ sports would put female athletes at a debilitating disadvantage. Again, sports are generally zero sum. Every biological male who makes the team takes a roster spot from a female athlete. Every biological male who earns playing time reduces the playing time of a female athlete. Every biological male who starts takes a starting position from a female athlete. Every biological male who wins a race takes the gold medal away from a female athlete. And so on.
Wilmer Flores on the baseball field in a Mets uniform. He is crying into his sleeve.
A somewhat grainy photo of a hand with bright orange nail polish and a silver watch with a colorful dial
I am slightly smiling in a selfie with two gray kittens on my lap.
Upcoming Events: book launch August 24 in Queens, NY; DSK/Greenlight Bookstore’s Squawkin’ sports August 25 in Brooklyn, NY; Brookline Booksmith on September 16 in Brookline, MA
A white fluffy cat.
A cat with a square “I voted 2026” sticker stands near her feeder.
A stack of five Finding Renée Richards copies framed by silly little Kodak logos on the top and bottom.
A stack of five press copies of Finding Renée Richards by Julie Kliegman.
I am standing near Barclays Center carefully putting on an elephant onesie over my Liberty T-shirt.
NEW: -The Washington Post is hiring a Sports Reporter based in Washington, D.C. to cover local sports with a focus on the Washington Commanders. They will produce distinct journalism about the team's performance and culture, contribute to wider local sports coverage, and collaborate across the newsroom. Candidates should have at least three years of experience reporting on local sports and a demonstrated ability to write authoritatively on deadline. The salary is $73,600 to $110,400. See our Opps Finder listing for more info. (Jun 9).
An old-school Kodak edit menu frames an image of my gray and white tabby cat asleep on a black desk chair facing a brown desk
A gray and white tabby cat lying on her side, looking up at the camera from the floor. She is lying on a green yoga mat.
Sepia-toned roller skates with green laces. The left skate is upright and the right skate is resting on its side.
Graduating soon? Keep all your emails and other files after you graduate. Copy your emails, files, and photos to another Google Account so you'll still have access
Are you woman enough?
A gray and white tabby lounging on a window sill. Her mouth is open to yawn, but she looks ferocious.
A Kodak Charmera camera on a keychain in my hand. My nails have lime green polish. There are books in the background.
A gray TomToc Switch Lite case, along with a yellow Switch Lite console and a red microSD card off to the left
A close-up of Donkey Kong looking absolutely unhinged at the beginning of Donkey Kong Bananza.
Five bookmarks. One in the middle is black with the cover of Finding Renée Richards, a QR code to purchase the book, and the information that it's on sale August 18, 2026. Four other bookmarks surround it. They are white with a black line drawing of Renée Richards above the text Finding Renée Richards. They are two sides of the same bookmark.
An outstretched wrist wearing a neon yellow-green, purple, orange, and pink Swatch watch. The person’s hand features orange-colored nails.
“A magnificent portrait of one of the most famous trans women in American history. Kliegman catalogs Renée Richareds’s life and career with remarkable care, excavating the intimate thoughts—and occasional political contradictions—of a titanic figure in queer life.” —Michael Waters, Lambda Literary Award–winning author of The Other Olympians.
“An elegant, meticulous investigation of one of the most intriguing people in tennis history. Kliegman explores the gap between gender politics past and present to poignant and thought-provoking effect; this book illuminates not just Richards but an entire society shifting around her.” —Giri Nathan, bestselling author of Changeover.
“Finding Renée Richards offers a fascinating account of an important and often overlooked figure in American sports and culture. Julie Kliegman tells the story with impressive research, vivid writing, and searing honesty. A timely and timeless book.” —Jonathan Eig, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for King: A Life.
My hand, which is holding four blueberries, is reaching down toward my gray and white cat, who is interested
An organized red toolbox featuring nails, bolts, screws, and for some reason an acorn and a tooth
Ravenous logo in pink all caps Hi Julie, Thank you so much for signing up for a monthly Ravenous membership. We officially launch on May 6, and we literally can't do what we do without that kind of support, so believe us when we say this means the world to us.
a fake news stand with orchids in front of fake magazine covers spoofing Time, Wired, Vanity Fair, and more
pink flowers
A red HitClips player
Mido Ocean Star Tribute Decompression Worldtimer Watch, 41mm, has a colorful face and a blue band
Finding Renée Richards offers a fascinating account of an important and often overlooked figure in American sports and culture. Julie Kliegman tells the story with impressive research, vivid writing, and searing honesty. A timely and timeless book. - Jonathan Eig, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for King: A Life
Dear Harlequin: Nobody Asked For Your Weird, New AI Video “Microdramas” Maris Kreizman Wonders What the Hell We’re Even Doing Here Maris Kreizman April 2, 2026
A bluesky reply reading I just saw you wrote a book about Renee Richards. You know he and Martina both agree that men shouldn’t compete with men. You don’t agree with them?
A colored pencil drawn trading card of Jonquel Jones in a black and seafoam Equality Liberty jersey
Pete Alonso and Gleyber Torres on the cover of Sports Illustrated
Lately I’ve been telling anyone who will listen that this is a very good and very underrated part of a cat, the lil eyebrows, as seen here, along with a photo of a gray and white tabby cat with the little furs over her eyes circled in red
Book cover for Finding Renée Richards: The Groundbreaking Story of Tennis’s Trans Pioneer by Julie Kliegman. There is a black and white photo of Richards holding a tennis racket.
An unread email from the New York Mets with the subject line We’re Back!
A poster mockup for The Sopranos. It's an outline of New Jersey with a black and red handprint over
Tony Soprano in the pool with ducks. He is saying This is great!
Email subject line: Here’s What’s Happening at the LIC Y
A bulleted list item written in black pen reading "something something Kids Today ..."
Cursed image of a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of racially and culturally stereotypes cats called Cats Around the World
Headline reading Alysa Liu Is So Mentally Healthy It's Terrifying. Deck reads When she says she's skating just to enjoy herself, I actually believe her.
Queering Biography Whether chronicling the life of an LGBTQ person or writing as an LGBTQ author, queerness is a central theme for many biographers. Topics include the nitty-gritty of handling pronouns and name changes, overarching questions about describing historical figures’ lives with care, and how a queer POV can enrich biography. Moderator Julie Kliegman Panelists Cynthia Carr is the author, most recently, of Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar, winner of the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award for biography and BIO’s 2025 Plutarch Award. Her previous biography, Fire in the Belly: The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz, won a Lambda Literary Award in 2013. Carr chronicled the work of contemporary artists as a Village Voice staff writer in the 1980s and 1990s (under the byline C.Carr). She was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 2007 and was a fellow at The Leon Levy Center for Biography (2016-17). Brad Gooch is a poet, novelist, and biographer whose latest book, Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring (Harper, 2024), was awarded the 2025 Lambda Literary Award in Gay Memoir/Biography and is being developed as a TV series written and directed by Andrew Haigh. Forthcoming in June is his new memoir, Good Morning Moon: A Snapshot of an American Family. His previous books include Flannery: A Life of Flannery O’Connor, City Poet: The Life and Times of Frank O’Hara, and the memoir Smash Cut. He is the recipient of National Endowment for the Humanities and Guggenheim fellowships. Evelyn C. White is the author of Alice Walker: A Life (2004). A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle and is widely published in the U.S. and Canada. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
A Kindle alternative (picture is of a Kobo e-reader) for $230 with a "buy at Amazon" button