Who Is Buzz Bissinger? 'Friday Night Lights' Author To Help Caitlyn Jenner Write Memoir

Reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner will publish a memoir about her public transition from male to female, the New York Times reported Tuesday. The new transgender advocate will write her book with Buzz Bissinger, the famed author of “Friday Night Lights,” the 1990 nonfiction book about a Texas high school football team that inspired a film and a hit television series.

Bissinger, who wrote a Vanity Fair cover story about Jenner last year after she announced her transition, told the New York Times he felt a connection to Jenner because he enjoys cross-dressing and said he could relate to her experience. “I’ve also been open about cross-dressing and certain aspects of gender fluidity, and that created a bond,” Bissinger said.

The author said Jenner asked him to work on the memoir a few months after the Vanity Fair article was published. The book will include all aspects of Jenner’s life, from her childhood as Bruce Jenner to her time as a gold-medal-winning Olympic decathlete to her family relationships (she's been married three times and has 6 children) and her transition to extremely famous transgender woman. It is expected to be published in the spring of 2017 by Grand Central Publishing.

While Jenner has been in the spotlight regularly since she told the world about her transition during an interview with ABC News' Diane Sawyer last spring, many fans may be less familiar with Bissinger.

Most famous for his “Friday Night Lights” book, Bissinger has also had a prominent career as a journalist, writing for papers in Virginia, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Chicago. In 1987 while working at the Philadelphia Inquirer, he won a Pulitzer Prize for his work on a six-part investigative series about the Philadelphia court system.

After working at various newspapers, Bissinger moved to Odessa, Texas, where he wrote “Friday Night Lights,” which has sold 2 million copies since its publication in 1990. The original book explored the impact high school football had on small-town life in Texas. He has also published a number of other books and has been a contributing editor at Vanity Fair magazine since 1996, according to his website.

The 61-year-old told the New York Times he made sure to tell Jenner he would keep her honest in her upcoming book before he agreed to work on the project. “I made it clear to her before I agreed that everything has to be on the table, nothing can be left out, and I’m going to be interviewing dozens of other people,” he said. “It’s her book, but it’s going to be reported out to keep her honest. She’s been incredibly open, and I think it has the potential to be a really important book.”