Tucson Festival of Books

Michael Loynd

Michael Loynd is a representative on the IOC’s World Union of Olympic Cities, a member of the International Society of Olympic Historians and an Olympic lecturer. Loynd's most recent work is "The Watermen," and his previous book "All Things Irish" was an Amazon Bestseller.

Visit website |

Awards: International Swimming Hall of Fame 2022 Book of the Year

Scheduled events:

Olympic Legends

Jim Thorpe, Charles Daniels and Luisa Harris were Olympic heroes in their respective sports. All of them took different yet difficult roads to the awards stand. Today we'll see why Thorpe, Daniels and Harris were heroes in more ways than one.

Integrated Learning Center Room 130 (Seats 143, Wheelchair accessible)

Sat, Mar 4, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Sports
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)

Panelists: Michael Loynd, Andrew Maraniss, David Maraniss
Moderator: Anne Montgomery

Sports Royalty

Not without hardship and personal pain, some athletes rise above all the others. They become sports royalty. In this session, we will roll out the red carpet for Bo Jackson, Jim Thorpe and Charles Daniels ... and their biographers: Jeff Pearlman, David Maraniss and Michael Lloyd.

Koffler Room 204 (Seats 300, Wheelchair accessible)

Sun, Mar 5, 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Sports
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - UA BookStore Tent (on Mall) (following presentation)

Panelists: Michael Loynd, David Maraniss, Jeff Pearlman
Moderator: Damien Alameda

Book:

The Watermen

The Birth of American Swimming and One Young Man's Fight to Capture Olympic Gold
Sports
Ballantine Books
January 2022
ISBN 9780593357040
416 pages