CHARLOTTE ó A sports fan may die and go to heaven, but he or she might prefer going to the Carolinas. Athletes and teams from the Carolinas have won Heisman trophies, Olympic medals, championship belts in pro boxing and pro wrestling, and national titles in just about every sport people play, even hockey.
A new Novello Festival Press book, coming out in spring 2009, will celebrate the amazing stories in Carolina sports. The region is home to tales both renowned and obscure: stock car driver Richard Petty, who won 200 NASCAR races; “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, who may or may not have thrown the 1919 “Black Sox” World Series, but definitely inspired the movie “Field of Dreams”; Clemson University, whose Tigers won the 1981 National Championship in college football, and whose campus becomes the third largest city in South Carolina every time they play a home game; the ACC’s Big Four of college basketball, with nine national titles among them; and Ernie Shore, a Boston Red Sox pitcher who took over a game after his teammate ó a Baltimore kid named George Herman Ruth ó was ejected for arguing the first pitch, and proceeded to throw a perfect game for which he was never credited. And there is also a basketball player called Michael …
Writers from North and South Carolina are invited to submit their work for inclusion in this non-fiction anthology.
“Novello Festival Press will honor the wonderful legacy of sports in our region. We want to represent the diversity of sports: from baseball to basketball, NASCAR to track and field, football and more,” said Amy Rogers, NFP’s Publisher. “And we are proud to announce that accomplished writer Ed Southern will edit the book.”
Southern, editor of the anthology, has been a slot writer for the Winston-Salem Journal sports department, and has played almost every sport there is in a vain attempt to find one he’s good at. But his primary experience of sports has been through investing far too much emotion and energy in the athletic endeavors of others, most of whom are now (disturbingly) younger than he is. Southern is the executive director of the North Carolina Writer’s Network, as well as the author of three books.
Submission guidelines are below:
– You must be 18 or over.
– Your submission must be a non-fiction piece about a person, place or event that relates to sports in the Carolinas.
– You may send no more than two submissions, no more than 1,000 words each.
– We welcome submissions from previously unpublished writers.
– Send a cover sheet with your name, address, email address, phone number and one paragraph about yourself.
– No materials will be returned. Do not send original letters, photos or other materials.
– You must grant permission for NFP to edit your piece and print your name and hometown.
– There is no fee to enter; each accepted contributor will receive $25 and a copy of the finished book.
– Submissions must be postmarked by Sept. 2, 2008. Send to: Novello Festival Press, 310 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202 or e-mail to: sportsincarolinas@gmail.com.
NFP is the publishing project of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Its books are available at area bookstores and library branches. Proceeds from book sales benefit the library. For more information, call 704- 416-0706 or visit www.novellopress.org.