Vince Carter: The Fire Burns Bright

by Mark Stewart

The New Wave series celebrates the achievements of the world's top young athletes, and Vince Carter, Toronto Raptors All-Star dunker, is definitely leading the "next wave" in sports. A member of the U.S. Dream Team at the 2000 Olympics, Carter grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida, and went to the University of North Carolina. He makes headlines both for his playing abilities and for his close friendship with his cousin and recent-Raptor defector Tracy McGrady.

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Mark Stewart is an American writer and editor of magazines, books and web sites. He is known for his books on sports, history and popular culture.

Stewart’s first publishing job was Managing Editor of Racquet Magazine (1988–1992), an upscale tennis publication. He continued to edit magazines throughout the 1990s and 2000s, focusing on business publications in the Sports Product, Footwear, Consumer Electronics, Telecommunications and Outdoor Recreation industries. He also pursued numerous writing freelance assignments during this time, many of which focused on sports and popular culture. His corporate clients included Walt Disney, Pizza Hut, Denny’s, The Children’s Television Workshop, Woodstock ’94 and the NBA. He wrote the copy for the league’s 1992 sales catalog and created the slogan “I Love This Stuff.”

Stewart published his first book in 1992, The Ultimate Insider’s Guide to Baseball Cards (Crown Books). In 1994, Stewart helped International Masters Publishing create its popular Sports Heroes, Facts & Feats continuity product. He oversaw a team of 38 freelance sportswriters that produced more than 500 gatefold athlete profiles.

Also in 1994, Stewart was hired by Grolier to author the All-Pro Biography book series of authorized biographies. The series was aimed at reluctant readers, and featured athletes recounting the challenges and triumphs of their childhoods. Among the athletes Stewart worked with on the series were Dan Marino, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Barry Sanders, Isiah Thomas, Chris Mullin, Martin Brodeur, Tony Meola, Jeff Gordon and Florence Griffith-Joyner. With his reputation established as a sports author in the educational publishing field, Stewart continued to author sports books for Grolier, Franklin Watts, Children’s Press, Millbrook Press and other companies in the field. He also wrote books under the pen names Rachel Rutledge and Caleb MacLean.