Some Call It Ballin'

Issue 3: Fall 2014

"...but in joy create for others the house, the poem, the game of athletic beauty" — Dudley Randall

Submit (no longer accepting subs)

We consider sports essays of up to 5,000 words and book reviews of poetry, fiction & non-fiction of up to 1,000 words. To submit an essay or book review to Some Call It Ballin', please send it as an attachment to somecallitballin@gmail.com with the subject: "Submission -- [name of piece]".

Some guidelines:

  • We care about sports. But more specifically, we care about how sports intersect with the personal, political, and social. We're less interested in an expert sports testimonial as much as a piece that examines our world through the lens of sports. In other words: we're not Sports Illustrated. Please read the work we've run in the past to get a sense of what we're interested in.
     

  • We like all the most popular sports, but we're very interested in all the lesser-followed sports too. Try us.
     

  • Send only completed work. We will not consider unsolicited pitches.
     

  • Essays should be no more than 5,000 words. Exceptions may be made for truly deserving pieces.
     

  • Book reviews should be on books that have come out fairly recently (if not on forthcoming books). They should be no longer than 1,000 words. Please query us if your review runs much longer than that.
     

  • Please double-space your piece, number the pages, and use Times New Roman and 1-inch margins. Also: please use only a single space after your periods. This helps us when we format. And of course, make sure your name is somewhere on the document. Send as a .doc or .docx file.
     

  • Book reviews should clearly state the name, author, and publisher of the book in the heading (even if the title of the review is different).
     

  • In the body of your email, please include a short cover letter providing a word count and a brief third-person biography.
     

  • We will consider images to accompany a piece; however, we reserve the right to decline running the images with the story should we accept it. Please make sure you hold any relevant rights or permissions.
     

  • Simultaneous submissions are okay. Multiple submissions are not. Please wait until you have heard from us before you send us another piece.
     

  • If your piece is accepted, we retain first publication and archival rights online as well as reserve the non-exclusive rights to republish the essay in future print editions.
     

  • As with most literary journals, this effort is all volunteer. So please be patient with us as we review your work. Feel free to contact us if you have not heard from us within six months.