Rollergirls - by Felicia Graham (Hardcover)

About the Book

Photographs that highlight the godmothers of flat track derby

Book Synopsis

Flat track roller derby is one of the country's fastest growing sports. What started as a single league in Austin, Texas, a couple of decades ago has grown into an international phenomenon, with nearly two thousand leagues around the world.

Rollergirls captures the spirit of the game, which is poised to become an Olympic sport, and highlights the women who have become known as the godmothers of modern-day roller derby. Documentary photographer Felicia Graham takes readers on a visual tour of more than 160 black-and-white images, showcasing the confidence it takes to become a rollergirl and the camaraderie that develops among the players. Focusing on the Texas League, where it all began, Graham celebrates the culture and personality of flat track derby everywhere.

Despite their different reasons for joining the sport, women of varying professions, ages, and lifestyles have made roller derby uniquely their own. With tongue-in-cheek team names like the Hotrod Honeys and personas like Sparkle Plenty and Buckshot Betty, the players use their brains and brawn to master the strategic game while also expanding the sport internationally. It's all done with bravado and a brash sense of humor unique to full-contact sports.

Graham has been photographing the Texas Rollergirls on and off the track, in Texas and on the international circuit, for more than a decade. Spending untold hours with the league and collecting thousands of photographs of pivots and blockers, adoring crowds, and the sweat of the bench, she has created a visual narrative of women who embody the freedom of flying around the track. In these pages, readers learn how regular girls become rollergirls--determined, athletic, intimidating, and powerful, all on their own terms.

Review Quotes

"The fact that I was, until encountering this book, largely ignorant of the details and scope of this group's inspiring story, even though it happened in my own lifetime and in my necks of the woods, is a testament to the all the powerful everyday stories that, all over the world, still remain to be told and learned from." -- San Antonio Current

"Glorious." -- Austin American-Statesman

"Graham conveys the frenzy of the sport--legs whizzing past in a line, a fallen player crying out in pain--but she also shows how roller derby offers the women a way to try on bolder, more unapologetically aggressive versions of themselves. " -- Texas Monthly

"Photographer Graham's spectacular photo-essay spotlights the glorious competition of the Texas Rollergirls' flat track roller derby league. Shot exclusively in black and white, Graham's photos showcase sensational action and also pay intimate, personal attention to the individual players. She presents the skaters as bold and fiercely dedicated; photos of women in fishnet stockings and tiny shorts in locker rooms with compact mirrors and eyeliner in hand give way to images of pregame warm-ups, team huddles, and action shots of collisions and bloody nose dives. The highlights are photos taken away from the track; images of players partying after the games, playing cheeky hijinks on competitors, and interacting with die-hard fans help reinforce Graham's point that, for roller girls, roller derby is a special type of close-knit family. Graham's outrageous and empowering photos capture the joy and spirit of this unique subculture." -- Publishers Weekly

"Graham has assembled one of the biggest visual archives of the world's fastest-growing women's sport." -- Austin Chronicle

"Her work captures the rough and tumble of competitive matches, as well as behind the scenes preparation and time away from the roller derby track." -- Daily Mail UK

About the Author

Melissa Joulwan is a retired founder and star player for the Texas Rollergirls. She is the author of Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track. She lives in Austin.