Ted Geltner at a roadside swamp in Enigma, GA, the setting of Harry Crews' first novel, The Gospel Singer (1968)

Ted Geltner is an award-winning writer, editor and a journalism educator who specializes in biography, sports writing and the history of sports journalism. His current project is Blood, Bone & Marrow: A Biography of Harry Crews, which is the first full-length biography of the legendary novelist and journalist. Geltner got to know Crews while working as a reporter, writing numerous articles about the cantankerous author and his colorful escapades. Geltner began the research on the biography in 2011, interviewing Crews many times, and conducting dozens of interviews with friends, colleagues and contemporaries of Crews, as well as examining the Crews archives at University of Georgia. Blood, Bone and Marrow will be published by University Press of Georgia in May of 2016.

Geltner earned his doctoral degree, focusing on journalism history at the University of Florida, where he was a teacher, student and researcher while working as an editor and feature writer for The Gainesville Sun. He has written extensively about sports journalism history, authoring articles and giving presentations on subjects such as the history of Sports Illustrated magazine and literary journalism in sports.

Ted Geltner and his wife Jill

Before pursuing his doctoral degree in journalism, Geltner was a full-time writer, editor and columnist for the Ocala Star-Banner, The Scranton Times-Tribune, and The Gainesville Sun. He has written numerous profiles on entertainers, politicians, athletes and characters of all shapes and sizes. He began his journalism career as a sports writer in California, and has covered entertainment, politics, sports, the environment, travel and been an entertainment editor, business editor, book editor and sports editor. His work has been published in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Gannett newspapers, Neiman Storyboard, Washington Monthly, Press, and others. He covers the horse racing industry in Florida for Bloodhorse magazine.

Geltner also has considerable experience in radio, television and on-line journalism. While working in Florida, he hosted a weekly entertainment radio show, was a regularly featured guest on multiple radio stations and has been interviewed on a variety of subjects. He regularly appeared on local evening news programs to discuss entertainment and other subjects. He hosted a weekly entertainment roundtable podcast for The Gainesville Sun.

Geltner and two of his children

For his first book, Last King of the Sports Page, Geltner spent more than two years researching the life of the Pulitzer Prize winning sports columnist Jim Murray. He has complete access to Murray’s lifetime personal collection of letters, documents, notes, clippings, scorecards, articles, newspapers, photos and assorted other materials in Palm Springs, California. The collection includes personal letters from Richard Nixon, Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, and hundreds of entertainment and sports personalities. He has also conducted dozens of interviews to date with those closest to Murray and spoken with many of the most influential sports journalists of the past few decades, including Frank Deford, Dan Jenkins, Rick Reilly and others.

Geltner is an associate professor at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia, where he teaches courses in reporting, literary journalism, magazine journalism, and photojournalism. He is also the editorial adviser to The Spectator, the student newspaper at VSU. He was one of the founding members of the North Florida Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and served as president. He is a regular speaker on a number of subjects related to journalism and history.