Abstract
Narrative is what we are, not what we do. Sport, an engine for human endeavour, in all its myriad forms, affords us space for shared understanding, meaning and connection, but it is arguably at its richest in its stories. They reflect our relationships, with each other, with our communities and the world as we see it. In their interpretation and representation of a given time and place, in their telling these stories allow the moment, triumphant or otherwise, to be held aloft, relived and rejoined. Continual change in the sporting landscape might reshape its stories, but for the spectator, their constant is the emotional investment poured into and over, heaped around, our chosen teams and those participants—players, coaches and fellow fans. The telling (and retelling) of these stories, and their writers, is at the centre of this monograph. This chapter will discuss the authorial team, their respective positionalities and expertise across sports writing, journalism and media studies, literary studies and creative writing, and the contextual landscape and shifting and working definitions of contemporary literary sports journalism.