Welcome to my web world. I’ve been a writer, editor, and small press publisher for three decades. In August 2021, Loyola Press published my book, Though the Odds Be Great or Small. Co-authored with Terry Brennan, of Notre Dame fame, this biography focuses on Brennan’s time as player and young coach for the Fighting Irish in the 1940s and 1950s, respectively. All a bit before my time, so I spent the first part of the pandemic in a historical dive, and I had a good time writing it.
Sport Literate, the literary journal I founded as a graduate student at Columbia College Chicago, celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020. We produced an anthology in summer 2023, featuring 25 of our favorite essays. Since our founding, we’ve published some 500 poets and writers and I’ve managed thousands of dollars in grant, donor, and subscriber money. Most importantly, with some considerable help from friends, I’ve kept a critically renowned journal in print in an increasingly online world. Last year, we also earned our first grant from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.
Most of my professional writing, up until 2021 anyway, focused on higher education, often in the form of magazine features and online profiles. I’ve written about two Olympic gold medalists, three astronauts, and many accomplished faculty, students, and alumni from two of my alma maters. Working for the Purdue engineers, I provided the editorial lead on more than 40 different magazines. I’ve also written nearly 50 features for the Purdue Alumnus, including 13 cover stories.
In February 2021, I accepted a job with the Gratiot County Herald, a family-owned weekly newspaper in Ithaca, Michigan. Since then, I’ve been writing about 4,000 words a week (five or six articles) on a range of profiles and news throughout the county. From farmers markets through rural hospitals, I’ve learned firsthand the old adage about journalism being the best job you can do in the time allowed to do it.
Check out the samples on the website here. I’m still a writer for hire, something akin to a “hired hand.” Let me know if you need a hand with anything.
William Meiners
billsportliterate@gmail.com