This image is the cover for the book I Was Picked

I Was Picked

John Challis was diagnosed with Hepatocellular Carcinoma in June, 2006.  Throughout his 2-year battle, he met some of the biggest names in sports and through these encounters, his positive outlook inspired athletes such as Mario Lemiuex, Ben Roethlisberger and Alex Rodriguez.  In the end, he lost his battle with cancer on August 19, 2008, but not before reminding everyone he encountered to live life to the fullest.

Howard Shapiro

HOWARD SHAPIRO lives in Moon Township, PA with his wife and two sons. The Controller for the Pittsburgh-based Visual Effects firm, Animal Inc., he has also written four children’s books and two graphic novels (part of the Forever Friends Trilogy.)

The Stereotypical Freaks was his debut Graphic Novel came out in November, 2012 and his most recent GN is The Hockey Saint which came out in October, 2014. Both GN’s have been nominated and won “Best Of” awards and the final part of the trilogy, Hockey Karma, will be released in September, 2016.

His 2008 book, Hockey Player for Life, has been the #1 downloaded children’s hockey e-book on Amazon’s Kindle chart since its arrival as an e-book in November of 2011. His Hockey Days book was the only book featured in the December 2007 Sporting News Annual Gift Guide as a Best Buy Gift for Children. Through a corporate sponsorship program he set up (and maintains), since the 2010-11 season, both of his children’s hockey books have been given to NHL teams (over 2,500 copies to date) for use in their community and educational initiatives. Since 2006 his annual charity raffle, which he matches dollar for dollar donated, has raised funds for several hockey-related charities including the Mario Lemieux Foundation, Hockey Fights Cancer and the Keith and Lisa Primeau Scholarship Fund.

Animal Media Group