Born Theodore Roosevelt Augustus Major Poston, Ted Poston grew up working on his father’s small newspaper in Hopkinsville, Kentucky After college he decided to make journalism his career. He went to New York City, where he landed a job as city hall reporter for the New York Post. Later, Poston won many journalistic awards for his work covering race relations and the civil rights movement. He also published about twenty short stories, including "The Revolt of the Evil Fairies," one of many stories based on his life at Booker T. Washington Colored Grammar School in Hopkinsville.