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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Defector Staff

A photo of a bunch of old-timey green barstools with the cover of the NYRB Classics edition of Robert Coover's Universal Baseball Association in the middle and the Defector Reads A Book logo at left.

Defector Reads A Book

There Is A Whole World In ‘The Universal Baseball Association, Inc. J. Henry Waugh, Prop.’

David Roth

You Are Hereby Invited To Join The Universal Baseball Association

Barry Petchesky

WRITER DAN SIMMONS PUBLISHES 'FIRES OF EDEN'

Dan Simmons Is Dead, So It’s Time To Read ‘Hyperion’

Defector Wuthers Some Heights

Brandy Jensen

Defector Reads A Book Is Tackling ‘Wuthering Heights’

The Blog Of The South

Giri Nathan

Charles Portis Can Make You Love A Loser

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

Books

Defector Reads A Book Is Deciding If This Is The Funniest Novel Ever Written

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

Interviews

Lucas Schaefer Understands The Brutality, Absurdity, And Transcendence Of Boxing

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Giri Nathan DISHES On Jannik Sinner And Carlos Alcaraz In This EXCLUSIVE Interview

Tom Ley

Luis Paez-Pumar

Defector Reads A Book: The Art of Fielding

The Art Of Reading

(Original Caption) St. Louis: Los Angeles Dodgers' Steve Sax is forced to make a leaping throw over sliding St. Louis Cardinals' Gene Tenace to allow David Green to beat the ball to first in the fourth inning. Green hit to Dodgers' Bill Russell to force out Tenace at second. The Dodgers defeated the Cards 11-3.

‘The Art Of Fielding’ Knows What’s Scary About Baseball

Bill Veeck holds up a sign to the crowd so they can manage the baseball game

Bills Week

Bill Veeck’s Goofy, Gag-Filled Baseball Book Was Ahead Of Its Time

Defector Reads A Baseball Book

Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever talks to the media during a press conference before the match-up against the Brazil National Team, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 4, 2025 in Iowa City, Iowa.

WNBA

Christine Brennan’s Caitlin Clark Book Is More About Gripes Than Greatness

Soraya Roberts

Hanif Kureishi attends the press night after party for "The Buddha Of Suburbia" at the Barbican Centre on October 29, 2024 in London, England.

Hanif Kureishi Writes Himself Anew In ‘Shattered’

In the shadows, c.1920. Private Collection. Creator: Cucuel, Edward (1875-1954).

Arts And Culture

Books We Think You Should Read This Summer

Patrick Redford

Kathryn Xu

Cyclists in a race are in the background. There is a house or wall on the left side of the road. There is a man in front, looking at the peloton, squatting halfway with his arms spread just past his knees. Next to him in the center of the road is a bicycle laid across the ground.

Tim Krabbe’s ‘The Rider’ Won Us Over By Losing