Happening in 2017: This season, it's all about celebrating the publication of Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey, by Ila Jane Borders with Jean Hastings Ardell, from the University of Nebraska Press -- now available at bookstores and online. Ila and I lead off with signing books at the NINE Spring Training Conference, March 1-4, Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Priest & Broadway, Tempe, AZ. (www.nineregistration.com) .... Ila and I speak and sign books, March 2, 7:00 PM, Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 South McClintock Drive, Tempe, AZ .... In celebration of Women's History Month we speak and sign books at "Equal to the Game: Women and Baseball," March 29, 4:30-9:00 PM, the Institute of Baseball, Whittier College, CA.... Ila coaches at USA Baseball/MLB's Trailblazer Series, a tournament for girls baseball, April 14-15, Urban Youth Academy, El Camino College Compton, CA.... Jean speaks and signs books, Sunday, April 23, 4:00 PM, Laguna Beach Books, 1200 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA.... Private high school reading and discusson, May 25, Long Beach, CA.... Jean speaks and signs books, Tuesday, May 30, 7:00 PM, Guilderland Public Library, 2228 Western Avenue, Guilderland, NY.... The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, Cooperstown, NY: Jean moderates her seventh panel discussion on women and baseball, Skirting the Game: "The High Times and Challenges of Women Who Play Baseball" Thursday, June 2, followed by a book signing in the Hall of Fame Bookstore.... BookCon, Javits Center North, New York, NY, June 4 , 10:00 AM.... Jean speaks and signs books, Thursday, June 8, 7:00 PM, Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, 67 East 11th Street, New York, NY.... San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco, CA, August 8, 6:30 PM, Talk, Discussion, and Book Signing.... Sonoma Stompers (Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs), Peoples Home Equity Park at Arnold Field, Sonoma, CA , Talk and Book Signing, 5:00 PM....and much more to come.
How I came to co-author Ila's memoir. In February of 1994 I picked up the local newspaper and read that a young woman was to be the starting pitcher for Southern California College in nearby Costa Mesa, California. I sat in the bleachers that sunny afternoon as Ila Borders stepped into history as the first woman to pitch a complete game in men's collegiate baseball. Her appearance that day attracted international media attention, and as we all gathered behind second base for an interview after her 12-1 victory, I was struck by Ila's composure, her focus, and her dedication. Despite the obstacles she perennially encountered, Ila had already been an all-star Little Leaguer and MVP of her boys' teams in middle school and high school. She went on to play four of varsity men's baseball and four seasons of men's professional baseball, primarily in the independent Northern League. And she did it all as a closeted gay born-again Christian athlete. What a story! Through the years, I've gotten to know and admire Ila. It's been a privilege to work together on her story.
A few words about how I got this way: I grew up in New York City, the daughter of a mother who loved books and a father who loved baseball. Ever since, literature and the game of baseball have informed my life. I became a writer because stories demanded to be told -- of places, events, and people. I also find satisfaction in working as an editor and teacher with others who seek to write their stories.
The profile is a favorite form. I’ve published pieces on authors Geoffrey Wolff and Dean Koontz (the Orange County Press Club’s Best Profile of 1995), Jack Peltason, president of the University of California, and artist Alexandra Nechita. Recent profiles include Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, www.newportbeachmag.com; Laguna’s Scribe of Summer, baseball author Arnold Hano www.lagunabeachmag.com; and Mark McGwire, in the Shady Canyon Golf Club magazine.
At times a particular issue compels me: I’ve published features on the health hazards of electromagnetic fields, domestic violence, charity telemarketing, Major League Baseball's Urban Youth Academy in Compton, and the Orange County (California) Republican Party. By 2012, I found political issues so compelling that for several years I wrote a semi-monthly column, "Left of Center" for the Newport Beach Independent. newportbeachindy.com
Whenever I discover a place of interest, I like to share the news. My published travel articles include one on a self-guided boat trip up England’s Thames River, a reprise on the 100th anniversary of one of my favorite books, Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat; the Wine Country of Santa Barbara County, published a decade before the appearance of the film, Sideways; and the rekindling of a family tradition with my son and his wife on a camping trip to Mineral King, California. Food goes along with travel, and I’ve written about my encounter with the green chiles of New Mexico, dining out along San Francisco’s cable car routes, and the foolishness of trying to stick to a diet in France (lost weight anyway.)
Speaking of travel, each March I head to Arizona where I co-chair the NINE Spring Training Conference, a collegial gathering of baseball scholars, with Trey Strecker of Louisiana State University. To learn more, please click on All About Baseball.
How I came to co-author Ila's memoir. In February of 1994 I picked up the local newspaper and read that a young woman was to be the starting pitcher for Southern California College in nearby Costa Mesa, California. I sat in the bleachers that sunny afternoon as Ila Borders stepped into history as the first woman to pitch a complete game in men's collegiate baseball. Her appearance that day attracted international media attention, and as we all gathered behind second base for an interview after her 12-1 victory, I was struck by Ila's composure, her focus, and her dedication. Despite the obstacles she perennially encountered, Ila had already been an all-star Little Leaguer and MVP of her boys' teams in middle school and high school. She went on to play four of varsity men's baseball and four seasons of men's professional baseball, primarily in the independent Northern League. And she did it all as a closeted gay born-again Christian athlete. What a story! Through the years, I've gotten to know and admire Ila. It's been a privilege to work together on her story.
A few words about how I got this way: I grew up in New York City, the daughter of a mother who loved books and a father who loved baseball. Ever since, literature and the game of baseball have informed my life. I became a writer because stories demanded to be told -- of places, events, and people. I also find satisfaction in working as an editor and teacher with others who seek to write their stories.
The profile is a favorite form. I’ve published pieces on authors Geoffrey Wolff and Dean Koontz (the Orange County Press Club’s Best Profile of 1995), Jack Peltason, president of the University of California, and artist Alexandra Nechita. Recent profiles include Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, www.newportbeachmag.com; Laguna’s Scribe of Summer, baseball author Arnold Hano www.lagunabeachmag.com; and Mark McGwire, in the Shady Canyon Golf Club magazine.
At times a particular issue compels me: I’ve published features on the health hazards of electromagnetic fields, domestic violence, charity telemarketing, Major League Baseball's Urban Youth Academy in Compton, and the Orange County (California) Republican Party. By 2012, I found political issues so compelling that for several years I wrote a semi-monthly column, "Left of Center" for the Newport Beach Independent. newportbeachindy.com
Whenever I discover a place of interest, I like to share the news. My published travel articles include one on a self-guided boat trip up England’s Thames River, a reprise on the 100th anniversary of one of my favorite books, Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat; the Wine Country of Santa Barbara County, published a decade before the appearance of the film, Sideways; and the rekindling of a family tradition with my son and his wife on a camping trip to Mineral King, California. Food goes along with travel, and I’ve written about my encounter with the green chiles of New Mexico, dining out along San Francisco’s cable car routes, and the foolishness of trying to stick to a diet in France (lost weight anyway.)
Speaking of travel, each March I head to Arizona where I co-chair the NINE Spring Training Conference, a collegial gathering of baseball scholars, with Trey Strecker of Louisiana State University. To learn more, please click on All About Baseball.