Sheryl Teresa James (born October 7, 1951) is a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning journalist and author. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1991 for a series she wrote in the ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute f ...

'' about a mother who deserted her baby''.'' Her reporting has also been in the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

,'' the ''

Greensboro News and Record The ''News & Record'' is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and prod ...

,'' and ''City Magazine'' in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

''.''

Early life

James was born on October 7, 1951, to Reese and Dava James in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. After growing up in the area, she attended

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

, where she received a B.S. in English in 1973.

Journalism career

In 1979, James got her first job in journalism at ''City Magazine'' in Lansing, Michigan.'''' She worked there as a staff writer and editor for three years, before moving to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

after being hired by the ''Greensboro News and Record'' in 1982. She went on to join the ''St. Petersburg Times'' as a feature writer in 1986. During her time in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, James also worked for the

Poynter Institute The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a non-profit journalism school and research organization in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The school is the owner of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' newspaper and the International Fact-Checking Netw ...

as a consultant, and provided instruction for high school newspapers in the area. James was the recipient of the

1991 Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes for 1991 included not only awards given in all categories, but two separate awards were given for International Reporting: Journalism awards *Public Service: **''Des Moines Register'', For reporting by Jane Schorer that, wi ...

for Feature Writing for her series "A Gift Abandoned," which the Pulitzer board called "a compelling series about a mother who abandoned her newborn child and how it affected her life and those of others." The following year, James was a finalist in the same category for her series "Life From Death," which was described by the Pulitzer board as a "gripping account of the effort to transplant the organs of a dead boy and turn the tragedy of his death into a gift of life for others." James returned to Michigan in 1991 to work as a staff writer for the ''Detroit Free Press,'' where she remained for over a decade. Since 1999, James has written two books about the history of Michigan, which range in subject matter from a biography of local artist Gwen Frostic to the state's folk heritage. James currently works as a freelance journalist for publications including ''Michigan Today'' and the ''Toledo Blade''. She has also worked as a specialist in public relations for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

's School of Information.

Personal life

James identifies as

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. She married her husband, Eric Vigmostad, in 1974. They have two children, named Teresa and Kelsey. As of 2017, James and Vigmostad lived in

Brighton, Michigan Brighton is a city in Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,446. Brighton forms part of the South Lyon-Howell-Brighton Urban Area. It is one of two incorporated cities in Livingston County ...

Books

* ''The Life and Wisdom of Gwen Frostic'' (1999) * ''Michigan Legends: Folktales and Lore from the Great Lakes State'' (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Sheryl American newspaper journalists Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing winners American women journalists Living people 1951 births 21st-century American women