Don’t Hate the Game: Sports Fiction by Black Men

Genre Fiction and Literature & Fiction

A collection of urban sports stories–rough, rugged, and raw…

Don’t hate the Game is the first anthology of sports fiction by Black male authors. This collection offers gritty, in-your-face stories full of action on and off the fields, courts, and boxing rings.

Vincent Hockett aka Dichotomy, starts things off with a riveting poem entitled: The Athlete’s Story. Next up, a young man must choose between hood life and a promising football career in Tony Lindsay’s Life on TV. In Against the Ropes, Michael T. Owens spins a tale of a boxer facing off in the ring with an unexpected opponent. Eric Fullilove’s Running to Daylight centers on a high school football star’s involvement in an interracial relationship. Advantage Tawana Bowles, by Robert Fleming, chronicles the life of a young tennis prodigy trying to balance success and adulthood. A cocky basketball star becomes a victim of his own ego in Edwardo Jackson’s The Greatest. Kimani Kinyua’s First Round Draft Pick: The Tale of Mercury Howard, is a tale of a college running back trapped in a world of crime, corruption, and football. In Rich Fitzgerald’s Pick and Roll, a high school coach learns a lesson he’ll never forget. Dan Hop profiles the life of a talented yet mysterious football star in Instant “O.” In Fists, Knives, Guns by G. Dan Buford, a young street baller makes a name for himself on and off court. In Phillip Thomas Duck’s G.O.A.T, a boxer discovers the difficulties of being a lover and a fighter. Rounding out the lineup is William Fredrick Cooper’s Corbin’s Mantra, a tale of a father schooling his son on basketball and life.

From hood streets to the bright lights of championship games, Don’t Hate the Game has something for everyone–sports fan or not.

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Michael T. Owens

Michael T. Owens is a self-proclaimed scatterbrained writer. Years ago, after being laid off from his job as an advertising executive, he decided to pursue his dream of finishing a novel. Since then, he has written several fiction and non-fiction books. In his free time, he gives writing workshops and lectures. He has received media coverage from outlets such as The Writer Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, Ad Week, Yahoo News, and Poets & Writers. He helps other writers with "The Scatterbrain's Guide to Self-publishing Your Novel". Born and raised in Florida, Michael T. Owens double-majored in Sociology and Communications for Business at Florida State University. After graduating, he moved to Atlanta to work for an advertising agency. Only after getting laid off, he began taking writing seriously. After years of starting various projects and finishing few, he was determined to write a full-length novel. Forty-five days later, the first draft of his debut novel Pick-Up Lines was complete. Pick-Up Lines, a comedic tale of a man's search for a dream girl was unsuccessfully shopped to literary agents. Undiscouraged, Michael approached publishers directly. Soon he attracted the attention of an independent publisher in New York, and later signed a book deal. Since then, his writing has been published by major and independent publishers as well as various online publications. Michael is also the founder of the Scatterbrained Writers Network, an online discussion group for writers of all genres. Its main goal is to help authors stay focused during the writing process. When he's not writing, Owens can be found playing basketball, composing music, or drawing.