Love Roller Derby? Love Books? Love Derby Shorts!
Pre-order Derby Shorts Now for only £5
Publication Title: Derby Shorts
Format: Paperback (164 pages) featuring fourteen short stories, eBook
Publisher: For Books’ Sake
Due: Monday 20th May 2013 (Paperback and eBook formats)
The first of its kind, Derby Shorts is an anthology of short stories about roller derby, brought to you by fab and fierce feminist book website For Books’ Sake in collaboration with The London Rollergirls.
In its adrenaline-drenched pages you’ll find breathtaking tales from the track, with larger than life themes splattered boldly across the page. Love, lust, rivalry, rebellion, bittersweet subtleties of mood… you’ll find them all here in a broad range of tales ranging from inter-team shenanigans to Victorian emancipation via the roller boot (‘This is Not Your Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter’s Roller Derby’ by Kaite Welsh) through to assassins in punk-apocalyptic London (‘Dead Girls Don’t Wear Blades’ by Mookychick editor Magda Knight).
The anthology features stories from established and emerging authors from across the globe, each of them a passionate fan of, as For Books’ Sake puts it, “a sport and subculture far too fierce, fearless and exciting to stay underground.”
Yes, I most certainly know what Roller Derby is. Remind me?
For many, their first taste of roller derby might be the endearing 2009 film Whip It! by Drew Barrimore. The Guardian refers to roller derby as “One of Britain’s fastest-growing grassroots sports… the perfect pastime for feminists with attitude”. As Moxie McMurder (the founder of Lead Jammer Magazine) points out, roller derby has been evolving since the 1930s. The sport ’boutfits’ (punky attire and playful, powerful player nicknames) have made national headlines, but this team-based rollerblading sport is a testament to skill, power and strategy. If you want to know more, check out Mookychick’s top tips for becoming a rollergirl (or, if you’re a guy, a referee).
Shout-out to the people behind the Derby Shorts anthology
For Books’ Sake is a website dedicated to books by women. Not crap books, obviously, because that would be a waste of everyone’s time. GOOD BOOKS. With lovely features, a strong heart and reviews galore of books by feted and upcoming women writers, For Books’ Sake also act as an independent publisher. Their first published anthology was Short Stack, published in partnership with Pulp Press. They have also published the Furies poetry anthology.
The London Rollergirls are a UK derby team that have been going strong since 2006. They consist of four league teams (Suffra Jets, Ultraviolent Femmes, Steam Rollers and Harbour Grudges), and an all-star travel team (London Brawling) and an all-star reserves team (Brawl Saints) that play teams from other cities around the world. In September 2011, London Brawling made history as the first team outside North America to take part in the WFTDA East Region Playoffs held in Baltimore, USA.
