WAS :

Submissions for Vol. 2, No. 3 ,edited by Brian Oliu & Jason McCall are open now! See below.


HAD :

Mostly follow us on Twitter for spontaneous submission calls.



Follow both HAD and WAS on Twitter and/or join our mailing list to be among the first to know about open submission calls and any and everything else.


Vol. 2, No. 4 will be edited by Daniel Miller & T.L. States


March Madness is winding down. LeBron James is on the shelf, and Aliyah Boston looks like a sure bet to be the top pick in the WNBA draft. But basketball isn’t the only game in town. Wisconsin won the NCAA women’s hockey championship. The Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to prove they’re not cursed. Somehow, Sidney Crosby is in his 18th season as an NHL player. Where time may be slipping away from some, it seems limitless to others. 

We want your weird and speculative takes on the hardwood at Madison Square Garden, your nostalgia for Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, and conversations you’ve had with the ghosts that emanated from the rubble of The Palace at Auburn Hills. Tales of street hockey on the roof of a convenience store in New Jersey, or basketball at Rucker Park in Harlem. Stories of overbearing parents at rec league games, and sonnets celebrating Craig Hodges and the career he wasn’t allowed to have. This is for the die-hards and the casuals. The athletes. The activists. Everyone in between.

That’s just the half of it, though. Words & Sports always shoots for a 50/50 split of theme-related writing and any other sports-adjacent writing. This is the time to show non-sports fans why this stuff matters, so if you’ve got an essay on curling that’s burning a hole in your brain, send it over. We love video games. Skate or Die, Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer? Of course. And has anyone ever gotten enough of NBA Jam? Wind up that slap shot from the blue line, let loose, and shatter the glass. 

We're looking forward to anything and everything you send us, and we'd really love to see submissions from marginalized and underrepresented voices.

Thank you!

Vol. 2, No. 4 will be edited by Daniel Miller & T.L. States


March Madness is winding down. LeBron James is on the shelf, and Aliyah Boston looks like a sure bet to be the top pick in the WNBA draft. But basketball isn’t the only game in town. Wisconsin won the NCAA women’s hockey championship. The Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to prove they’re not cursed. Somehow, Sidney Crosby is in his 18th season as an NHL player. Where time may be slipping away from some, it seems limitless to others. 

We want your weird and speculative takes on the hardwood at Madison Square Garden, your nostalgia for Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, and conversations you’ve had with the ghosts that emanated from the rubble of The Palace at Auburn Hills. Tales of street hockey on the roof of a convenience store in New Jersey, or basketball at Rucker Park in Harlem. Stories of overbearing parents at rec league games, and sonnets celebrating Craig Hodges and the career he wasn’t allowed to have. This is for the die-hards and the casuals. The athletes. The activists. Everyone in between.

That’s just the half of it, though. Words & Sports always shoots for a 50/50 split of theme-related writing and any other sports-adjacent writing. This is the time to show non-sports fans why this stuff matters, so if you’ve got an essay on curling that’s burning a hole in your brain, send it over. We love video games. Skate or Die, Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer? Of course. And has anyone ever gotten enough of NBA Jam? We want to hear from underrepresented and marginalized voices. Wind up that slap shot from the blue line, let loose, and shatter the glass. 

Wanna send us a little tip but it is too stressful (impossible?) doing so with the looming deadline of one of our chaotic submission windows? Don't worry, we'll still let you send us money!

For real though, feel less than obligated to do so! 

For full disclosure, this money ends up paying for webhosting fees, new mailchimp fees because too many of you signed up for our mailing list for the free option, and then, if there's ever anything left over, we buy our guest editors little Christmas presents.

Money is dumb and we love all of you whether you send us anything or not! 

❤️ 💀

HAD