Heroine Maggie Steele Soars Over Gender Bias on Women's Day 2022

International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of all women. It’s a day to inspire future generations by celebrating women role models — Including the achievements of storybook role model Maggie Steele, who overcomes gender bias to soar to new heights in the acclaimed young adult novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon.

GRAIN VALLEY, Kan. — Imagine a gender-equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination against women. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated…

Olympic Champion Vaulter Katerina Stefanidi wrote the inspiring foreword for Maggie Vaults Over the Moon.

Now imagine a world where female pole-vaulters have the same access to fiberglass poles as males. It’s really not hard to imagine today, because thanks to modern technology and changing attitudes, manufacturers are making thousands of poles especially designed for females. What was once unheard of has become a reality and today’s females are now soaring in a sport which was once considered too difficult and dangerous for girls.

The sport of pole-vaulting has opened the runway to women, but as for gender equality and equity in other areas, today’s International Women’s Day (IWD) reminds us that there’s still plenty of work to be done.

Celebrated annually on March 8th, International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of all women. It’s a day to inspire future generations by celebrating women role models — Including the achievements of storybook role model Maggie Steele, who overcomes gender bias to soar to new heights in the acclaimed young adult novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon.

“This inspiring book comes along at a perfect time, on the 40th anniversary of Title IX and in the same year as women athletes dominated the 2012 London Olympics. Girls who play sports and the coaches and families who support them will thoroughly enjoy Grant Overstake's warm, uplifting story. After reading it, we'll all wish we were pole vaulters like Maggie!” — Christine Brennan, USA TODAY

Hailed as one of the greatest track and field novels of all time by Citius Mag, the story of a fictional farm girl's quest to master the daring sport of pole-vaulting has stirred the hopes and dreams of young women and girls around the world. A bold female protagonist, Maggie faces many obstacles in the story. One of her biggest barriers is overcoming the gender bias of school board members living in a time warp 50 years in the past -- before Title IX guaranteed girls the right to have equal access to sports.

“As the first-ever pole-vaulter at her school, challenging the status quo becomes one of Maggie's strongest character traits,” said author Grant Overstake. “Maggie faces a great setback because of gender bias, but you’ll have to read the book to learn how she deals with it.”

Maggie’s storybook triumph struck a chord with bestselling author and USA Today Sports Columnist Christine Brennan. The top sportswriter in the nation, Brennan is an important voice for gender equality in sports, and was eager to endorse Maggie when the book was first published in 2012.

“Dr. Coach” Melissa White wrote the chapter questions focused on resiliency and grit for the new classroom reader edition of Maggie Vaults Over the Moon.

Fifty years ago, before Title IX made it illegal to discriminate, schoolgirls were limited to activities such as cheerleading and square-dancing. Just 1 in 27 girls played competitive high school sports. There were virtually no college scholarships for female athletes. And, female college athletes received only two percent of overall athletic budgets. Fifty years later, women are “almost” on equal footing with men in college and high school sports, and pole-vaulting has become one of the most popular and fastest-growing sports among females around the world. A zillion vaulting clubs have sprung up across the nation, many of them include more girl pole-vaulters than boys!

Maggie’s opportunity to have her voice heard was made possible in-part by the International Women’s Day Celebration held back in 2015, which helped boost the Indiegogo campaign to fund the audiobook version of the story. Thanks to IWD and generous sponsorships from Gill Athletics and others in the pole-vault community, funds were raised and the story was performed by Tavia Gilbert, who was named Female Narrator of the Year in 2017. The audiobook received a rave review for Gilbert from AudioFile, and is a lasting tribute to gritty females everywhere.

Women played key roles in producing the new second edition of Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, republished in June 2021. The foreword was written by Olympic Pole Vault Champion Katerina Stefanidi; chapter discussion questions were added by “Dr. Coach” Melissa I. White, a Language Arts (ELA) Teacher with a Doctorate in Sport Psychology (who also coaches boys and girls track and field); and, the book’s new cover and interior design were created by the brilliant artist, YoungJu Kim. And of course, Tavia Gilbert’s audiobook is still as amazing as ever.

Thanks to these women, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook versions virtually all around the world.