Hi, thanks for stopping by. I'm an author, editor, and Contributing Writer at Sports Illustrated. I've taught a variety of courses for the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and am currently at work on my latest book, for Simon & Schuster. 

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My previous titles include The Art of a Beautiful Game and One Shot at Forever, and I've written for The New York Times Magazine and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. I joined Sports Illustrated in 2000, focusing on features, profiles, and investigations. Eight of my stories have been optioned for film and seven have been reprinted in the Best American Sports Writing anthology. I was a finalist for a National Magazine Award, appeared in The Best American Magazine Writing, and won the 2018 Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting, given annually to the best feature story in the country. 

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 In 2020, I led a Cal team partnering with the New York Times to cover COVID-19 and its effect in California. I'm currently working on a long-term research project and running an LLC focused on narratives, which includes reporting and narrating a podcast for Audible and editing and annotating an anthology of basketball writing. In 2023, I began work on my most recent book, a narrative exploration of the science, history, and community of cold water swimming. 

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You can reach me at chrisballard33 [at] Gmail

I'm on Twitter @Chris_Ballard33