Sports & Recreation Roller & In-line Skating
Eight-Wheeled Freedom
The Derby Nerd’s Short History of Flat Track Roller Derby
- Publisher
- Wolsak and Wynn Publishers Ltd
- Initial publish date
- Jun 2016
- Category
- Roller & In-Line Skating, Sociology of Sports, Essays, History
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781928088134
- Publish Date
- Jun 2016
- List Price
- $20.00
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781928088356
- Publish Date
- Jun 2016
- List Price
- $9.99
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Description
D. D. Miller is fascinated by roller derby. As the Derby Nerd he has been covering roller derby since 2009, travelling to games across Canada and the United States, including two world championships, reporting back to an ever-growing audience the details of the sport. In this entertaining and thorough book he explains roller derby to newcomers and charts the sport’s rise from small groups of women looking for people to skate with over the Internet to the world presence it is today.
Along the way he considers roller derby’s roots in Riot Grrrl and DIY culture, and the importance of the LGBTQ community both inside and outside of the sport. This is a warm, thoughtful look at a sport that Miller understands intimately, which takes us beyond the costumes and showmanship, into the heart of what he feels may be the first truly feminist sport.
About the author
D.D. Miller is originally from Nova Scotia but has lived, worked and studied all across the country. His work has appeared in a number of journals and anthologies including The Malahat Review, The Fiddlehead, Eleven Eleven: Journal of Literature and Art and Dinosaur Porn. As the Derby Nerd, Miller is known around North America for his writing and commentary on roller derby, one of the world’s fastest growing sports.
A graduate of Mount Allison University, the University of Victoria and the University of Guelph (where he completed his MFA), Miller currently lives in Toronto where he works as a college English instructor. He also announced at both the 2011 and 2014 Roller Derby World Cups and was part of the ESPN's broadcast crew for the 2015 WFTDA Championships.
Editorial Reviews
"In this fast-paced work of non-fiction, Miller explores roller derby's roots in Riot Grrrl, DIY ethos, the LGBTQ community, and the sport's presence today."
Hamilton Magazine
"The bright spots come when Miller gets personal, describing the scenes unfolding around him at big matches or interviews with some of the best players."
Toronto Star