Editor of Best American Sports Writing of 2018 Will Be...

They should ask Bill Simmons, which would really piss him off because he's never been in it.

I do like the idea of Joyce Carol Oates or some other novelist who is an avowed sports fan. Stephen King? I know, he's everywhere, but so is Joyce Carol Oates.

At any rate, picking someone who didn't get their start in sports writing (which, I believe, would include Richard Ford, despite the name of his novel) would lead to inspired choices.

 

Much more than a fan, Oates has written a great deal on boxing over the years.

So has Katherine Dunn, a terrific if underrated novelist.

 

I don't need a Best of Boston Sports Writing. Nor does anyone else.

 

Bitter ^^^^

 

If you look at the list - I'd say almost a third have ties to the Boston area already.

 

So had Katherine Dunn, a terrific if underrated novelist who died in 2016.

 

That's right. Damn.

I think I even knew that and forgot. Thanks for the reminder.

Most famous for the novel "Geek Love," her boxing collection "One Ring Circus" is worth reading.

Add:

I got to thinking about this a little. There are authors I'll always think of as young. Usually based, I guess, on the date of their breakthrough book. Katherine Dunn was one of these. She published "Geek Love" in her mid-40s, and that was how I always thought of her. She was 70 when she died. Jayne Anne Phillips is always the precocious mid-20s author of "Black Tickets." She's 66.

Annie Proulx, 83, is forever in her late 40s. Same for Annie Dillard.

Jonathan Safran Foer will probably be 25 for the rest of my life.

 

David Foster Wallace will remain 46.

 

Bump.

Amazon just sent me an email today that I can preorder this. It’s scheduled to come out in October.

 

This last one should be The Best of The Best of The Best American Sports Writing ... best story from each of the previous 29 books in descending order that ends with The Best American Sports Written Story of the last 30 years. And what a fitting -30- that'd be.

Or, just fill this with a bunch of stories about University of Wyoming football ...


‎Glenn Stout‎ to The Best American Sports Writing
21 mins ·
The deadline for The Best American Sports Writing 2020, for work that appeared in 2019, to be guest edited by Jackie MacMullan has passed. Due to deadlines, work not submitted in a timely fashion may not be considered, although I generally lift the wire for not-too-late arrivals. The book will appear in October 2020.

Regrettably, after thirty years, the publisher has decided that The Best American Sports Writing 2020 will be the last in this series. I do have some ideas on how a similar series might continue, and may explore those options with other publishers. In the meantime, please do not send me any work for consideration, or extend any complimentary subscriptions.

As series editor of The Best American Sports Writing since its inception in 1991, it was always been my responsibility to read as many stories as possible and forward approximately seventy-five stories to the guest editor, who then selects the best twenty-five stories or so to appear in each volume, and is welcome to include stories not submitted by series editor. How did I select those 75 stories? I simply picked those stories that, after reading them once, I wanted to read again. An imperfect process, but one I took seriously

I'll write more about all this in my foreword to the upcoming edition. Until then, thanks for being a writer, and for reading. It was always your book.

-30-

 

Dammit. That sucks that it's going away.