Welcome to the Official Website of Kevin Poplawski

About the Author

Storyteller at Heart

Kevin grew up in Northeast Pennsylvania, the pizza capital of the world (yes, it is!), with the best friends and family anyone could ask for. He attended Misericordia University in Dallas, PA where he played soccer and received his Master of Science in Physical Therapy. He spent seven years at the John Heinz Institute Spine and Sports Medicine Center, and then returned to school to complete his DPT at Temple University.

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In 2006, Kevin moved to Chapel Hill (go Tar Heels!) to join the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Physical Therapy staff at UNC Healthcare. He feels, due to his fandom, that he is partly responsible for the Tar Heels 2009 men's basketball national championship...and the two titles he earned with the Diamond Dawgs in the hospital intramural softball league, where he met...

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...the love of his life, Elizabeth, and, in 2011, they got married and moved to Atlanta where she began her fellowship in pediatric rehab at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Kevin joined Emory Healthcare and currently works at their Sports Medicine complex. 

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In 2013, Elizabeth and Kevin were expecting. Even before the baby was born, he began reading to her every evening (Elizabeth was a captive audience). When Emily Rose made her debut to wild acclaim in 2014, Kevin decided he had to kick it up a notch and, drawing on his basketball fandom for the LA Lakers and UNC Tar Heels, began writing his own stories. One was about a down-on-his-luck elephant named Eli, who loved basketball but couldn’t shoot, dribble, or pass. Still, Coach Ollie Ostrich saw something special, and knew Eli could help the team in a way no one else could. Eli became a favorite to Emily; she asked for it every evening, and had it memorized it when she was two (she has her mother's smart genes). 

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On a random visit to a bookstore, Kevin thought he recognized the name of the author of a children’s picture book, and indeed, it was Jeanne Moran, one of his professors from Misericordia. Kevin and Emily loved the artwork. Jeanne put him in touch with her illustrator, Michael Rausch, who agreed to do the illustrations for Eli. Six months later, they released Eli's Magic Moment on Amazon.

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In 2016, Hailey Ann rounded out the terroristas (Elizabeth and Kevin have made a conscious decision to stick with a man-to man defense, and not play a zone). In 2019, Kevin and Michael released a sequel, The Trekkers' New Hope, where Ollie recruits two girls to join the team, but can girls do what it takes to defeat the Rangers on their home court in the dangerous swamp? Come find out!

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In 2020, Kevin and Michael had the opportunity to create a book for the Emory Global Health Institute's COVID-19 book contest. In two weeks, they unveiled the book Together: Living Life During COVID-19, which was one of five books honored among 260 entries.

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In addition to all the wonderful life activities above, Kevin has also enjoyed a honeymoon in Costa Rica, a Catholic mission trip to Haiti, and attending several of his favorite sporting events including the World Series (1993), NBA Finals (2001), College Basketball Final Four and National Championship (2013 and 2014), and the Masters (2006 and 2018).

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In his spare time, Kevin enjoys playing golf, working out at Burn Studios, reading his Eli books to elementary school children, and traveling with Elizabeth, Emily, and Hailey.