The Tickr

SHOWDOWN!

Michael Jordan Valentine’s Day Cards Updated for 2014

Those classic Valentine’s Day cards featuring Michael Jordan in his prime might read a little different these days.

steven lebron volume 1, now available

The book is now available! Before I get into how can you order a copy, below are some details regarding what the book is about in case it’s your first time hearing about this. 

1. What is this book about?

It is a project to both demonstrate my passion for sports and also to show the possibilities of the collaboration between art and writing. One of the best things I’ve discovered since I’ve become immersed with the online sports community are all the other people who share the same creative drive as me, whether it is expressed through words, illustrations or something else entirely. 

The book — which I expect to come in at around 40-60 pages — will feature some of my previous writing along with new pieces that explore the meaning of sports through the relationships I’ve developed with some of the athletes I’ve followed; some more recently, some for several decades. 

The order of the articles are still to be determined, but the book will include pieces on: Kobe Bryant, Jeremy Lin, Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, NMA Animations, Barry Bonds, Arthur Ashe, Dwight Howard, John Strickland, the oral history ofNorman Einstein’s, Tom Thibodeau, Rip Hamilton, Gregg Popovich, Dennis Rodman, Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe and my high school basketball career. 

2. What will it look like?

Here’s a few samples of what the pages inside the book will look like:

3. Wait, you write?

Yes, besides writing at this comfortable space I call my blog, I’ve contributed to The Classical, The Sports Fan Journal and several other sites. Some of my work featured at Yahoo’s “Ball Don’t Lie” blog and ESPN True Hoop. 

In addition, I host a podcast. The guest list has included former NBA players Tracy Murray, Todd MacCulloch and some of my favorite writers including Will Leitch, Andy Greenwald andJonathan Abrams. 

4. Who else is involved with the project?

The contributing artists are:

J.O. Applegate, better known as Bouncex3, who has contributed recently to The Classical’s Macadamia Charles, Basketball P.I. series 

Maddison Bond, who you can find all over the Internet including Hardwood Paroxysm’s 2013-14 Season Preview

Tessa Chong, aka The Sketchorialist

Jeffrey Dowdy, whose basketball (and other) illustrations you can find at his Tumblr

Leon Jimenez of L.A. Artwork who was kind enough to allow the use of this Jeremy Lin painting

Mike McGrath, whose portfolio is here and has contributed to Grantland Quarterly

Nathan McKee, whose paper-cut art was featured as part of an Adidas campaign

The art director of the project is Mark Malazarte, who has poured countless hours into creating some wonderful layouts, and whose contribution I appreciate more than words can express (Did that sound cliche? Sorry, I’m just thankful, yo.)

In addition, several pieces previously edited by David Roth at The Classical has been reworked and included in the book, as well as contributing edits from Andrew Forbes and a Kobe Bryant foreword from Andrew Ungvari. 

5. Okay, I’m interested, how do I get a copy?

Initially, the plan was to take the project to Kickstarter, until I came to the realization last week that: a) regardless of the funds I would raise, I was committed to printing a minimum number of books anyways and b) because Kickstarter charges a fee, I would have to charge a higher price per book to both cover the shipping and printing costs and the fee charge. 

So, what I’m doing now is making the book available for an initial limited run for $15 USD (for Canada and U.S. shipments, for international please add $10, sorry I need to cover for the additional shipping costs). If you want a copy, please contact me via email here or find me on Twitter. I’ll be accepting payment via PayPal. This is more of a manual process, but it allows me to charge everyone who is interested a lower price, which is important to me too. 

I suppose the point I want to make is this: I’ve spent countless hours on this project but it’s never been about profiting from folks who enjoy sports and writing as much as I do. Sure, the ulterior motive here is that I do want as many people to discover my writing as possible. But I don’t want to be putting money into my pocket for a project born strictly out of my own personal interest and desire with sports writing. 

6. What’s next?

All the writing is complete, the layouts have been put together and we’re now in the stage of making final changes. Should nothing else come up, the final copy will be delivered to the print company in a few weeks, at which time I will get a proof copy for review before the book is sent to be printed. Depending on the quantity of the print run, I will get the books in my hands anywhere from two to six weeks from the time of committing to a print quantity. 

7. Anything else?

If you’re interested, contact me, and please feel free to pass all of this information along to any of your own social media networks or specific people who you think would be interested. It would be much appreciated.