In these turbulent political times it’s good to know we’ve got some good Americans in our ranks. Since its early days, Sport Literate has attracted some of the best creative nonfiction writing in the nation, as evidenced by recognition in two anthologies: The Best American Sports Writing and The Best American Essays. We’re thrilled for Virginia Ottley Craighill for her recent honor in fall 2019.
Notable Essays in The Best American Sports Writing:
- Frank Soos, “Obituary with Bamboo Fly Rod,” 1997
- Mark Wukas, “Running with Ghosts,” 1998
- Frank Soos, “On His Slowness,” 1999
- Molly Moynahan, “Don’t Walk,” 2000
- Jay Lesandrini, “Waiting on Deck,” 2010
- Frank Soos, “Another Kind of Loneliness,” 2013
- Dave Essinger, “Hallucinating in Suburbia: John Cheever, Buddha, and the Unabomber on the Urban Ultramarathon,” 2014
- Alessandra Nolan, “Channeling Mr. Jordan,” 2016
- Laura Legge, “The Responsible Player,” 2017
- Liz Prato, “Flights of Two,” 2018
- Eric Van Meter, “St. Anthony and Buddha Bike Through the Desert,” 2019
- Justina Elias, “Hard Cut,” 2020
- Mark Anthony Jarman, “A Nation Plays Chopsticks,” 2020
- Michael Kula, “How to Repair a Bicycle,” 2020
- John Julius Reel, “Touched by the Greatest,” 2020
- Cinthia Ritchie, “Random Numbers from a Summer of Alaska Trail Running,” 2020
Notable Essays in The Best American Essays:
- Michael Steinberg, “Elegy for Ebbets,” 2002
- William Huhn, “The Triple Crown,” 2004
- Robert Parker, “The Running of the Bull,” 2006
- Benedict Giamo, “Played Out,” 2009
- Peter Stine, “Detroit Marathon,” 2010
- Cinthia Ritchie, “Running,” 2012
- Katie Cortese, “Winning Like a Girl,” 2014
- Gayle Brandeis, “IceTown,” 2016
- Rachel Luria, “The Rush Gives Warmth Enough,” 2016
- Phillip A. Snyder, “Rental Horses,” 2016
- Michael J. Hess, “On the Morning After the Crash,” 2017
- Liz Prato, “Flights of Two,” 2018
- Virginia Ottley Craighill, “The Lost Cause,” 2019
- Justina Elias, “Hard Cut,” 2020
- William Loizeaux, “Sin and Baseball,” 2020
- Anthony D’Aries, “No Man’s Land,” 2021
- Sage Marshall, “Cutting the Ice,” 2021
- Dave Fromm, “Tool Town Left to its Own Devices,” 2022
- David Blumenfeld, “Reminences of an 84-year-old Boxing Fan,” 2022
- Sydney Lea, “The Cardinal, the Cops, and the Say-Hey Kid,” 2023
Republished Essays in The Best American Sports Writing:
- Mark Pearson, “The Short History of an Ear,” 2010
- Cinthia Ritchie, “Running,” 2012
- Virginia Ottley Craighill, “The Lost Cause,” 2019
The Best American Essays Notable Special Issues
- 2004 “Father’s Issue”
- 2006 “Retrospective Reflections”
- 2009 “Our Football Best”
- 2020 “Fight Club”
Illinois Arts Council Literary Awards:
- Patricia Anne McNair, “And These Are the Good Times,” creative nonfiction, 1998
- John Conway, “How to Serve,” creative nonfiction, 1998
- Michael McColly, “Christmas City, U.S.A.,” creative nonfiction, 2000