Talking Derby: Stories from a Life on Eight Wheel is Kate "Pain Eyre" Hargreaves' love letter to the sport of roller derby. A derby skater since 2010, Hargreaves takes readers behind the scenes, both on and off the track, into the world of women's flat-track roller derby. Her vignettes play with language and humour, incorporating the sport's unique terminology and culture, as well as a glimpse into the very real athleticism and powerful friendships of its players. With a full glossary of derby terms, including "jammer," "goat," and "cougaring," this book is perfect for derby fans, fresh meat, or those who are looking for their first introduction to the sport. Talking Derby thrusts smelly gear under its readers' noses and proudly displays its bruises.

Kate Hargreaves is a poet, fiction writer, book designer and roller derby skater. Her first book, Talking Derby: Stories from a Life on Eight Wheels (Black Moss, 2012), is a collection of short prose vignettes inspired by playing women’s flat-track roller derby. Hargreaves’ poetry has been published in literary journals across North America, including Descant, filling Station, The Puritan, Drunken Boat, The Antigonish Review, Canada and Beyond, Carousel, and Rampike, and has also appeared in the anthologies Whisky Sour City (Black Moss, 2012) and Detours (Palimpsest, 2012), and the Windsor Review’s “Best Writers Under 35” issue. Hargreaves was the recipient of a Windsor Endowment for the Arts Emerging Literary Artist award in 2011 and a Governor General’s Gold Medal in Graduate Studies at the University of Windsor in 2012, where she obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English & Creative Writing. Kate grew up in Amherstburg, Ontario, but now lives in Windsor, where she works as a publishing assistant and book designer at Biblioasis. Follow her on Twitter @TalkingDerby and connect with her on Facebook www.facebook.com/TalkingDerby.

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