Pulitzer Nominated Journalist to Speak at Moss Memorial Library April 12
Gary Corsair, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism and 70 state, regional and national awards, will discuss his exciting and illustrious career as an investigative reporter, editor and sportswriter. Now a resident of Andrews and a sports contributor for Clay County Progress, he has come
back full circle to his roots.
Gary Corsair won these many awards during a career in newspaper, magazine, and television in Indiana, Florida and North Carolina. He said his longest stint–19 and a half years–occurred in The Villages, Florida, where he transformed a weekly shopper into a 7-day daily. The newspaper he birthed, The Villages Daily Sun, is now the 23rd largest newspaper in the nation.
After being replaced as managing editor, Corsair became an investigative reporter known for finding amazing, previously untold stories. Corsair won first-place awards for In-Depth Reporting from the Florida Press Association in 2003, the Florida Press Club in 2004, the Society of Professional Journalists in 2005 and 2010, and the Florida Magazine Association in 2015.
His newspaper nominated Gary for the Pulitzer Prize for his expose about American soldiers being used as guinea pigs by the U.S. Army during secret chemical weapons tests in rural Florida during World War II. Alas, he did not win.
Corsair also received first place awards for sportswriting and sports reporting in 2004, 2005, 2011, 2013.
Gary’s biggest claim to fame came after he stumbled upon the tragic story of four African-Americans accused of rape in 1949. Gary spent four years researching the infamous case and writing his first book, Legal Lynching: The Sad Saga of the Groveland Four, which made a convincing case that the accused and convicted were innocent. It also sparked a call for justice 50 years after the tragedy that culminated in 2019 when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis validated Gary’s book by exonerating The Groveland Four. Gary brings a 17 minute documentary (DVD) to the meeting and is open for questions.
After spending a year as a magazine editor, Gary moved to Robbinsville and served as publisher and editor of The Graham Star for nearly four years.
Today Gary is semi-retired, living in Andrews and putting the finishing touches on his second non-fiction book Cats With 12 Lives. He also covers sports for the Clay County Progress, which brings him full circle to how he began his career at 16 way back in 1976.
Gary enjoys reading, travel, collecting rare 78 records, and flea marketing. He and his wife of 43 years, Gwen, are parents of 4 wonderful adult children and a 17-year old wonder dog, Boo Radley.
Gary’s presentation will take place Wednesday, April 12, at 10:30 in the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, N.C. The event is free and open to the public. An open mike will follow the presentation. Bring a poem or short prose piece of about three minutes to participate. Coffee With the Poets and Writers is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network West which also includes writers in Towns, Union, Fannin and Rabun Counties in Georgia.
We will meet every second Wednesday at 10:30 from March to December 2023. Masks are optional.