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, and tried to hold the door open for everyone.

I’ll  write more about all this in my foreword to the upcoming edition. Until then, thanks for being a writer. It’s always been your book, not mine.

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