Tim Bascom with Johnson County Library & Rainy Day Books

Join us for a conversation with Tim Bascom, author of The Boundless Game. Bascom delves into the world of soccer, exploring how the sport transcends borders, connects communities and shapes our shared human experience. Hear the stories behind his writing, learn about his journey as an author and discover the cultural and personal insights that shaped the book. Gain a deeper insight into the themes and explore his reflections on the sport that unites millions worldwide.

Bascom will be in conversation with Dr. Shannon Jackson, Professor and Chair of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

This event is made possible in partnership with Johnson County Library For inquiries about accessibility and accommodations, please contact [email protected] or 913-826-4600 at least two weeks before the event.

A lifelong soccer player and award-winning author shows us how the sport transcends races, ethnicities, cultures, and experiences and brings us all closer together.

Tim Bascom spent half his childhood in Kansas and the other half in East Africa. Living and traveling around the world, the game of soccer proved a constant truth. Through storytelling that effortlessly flows between poignant and funny, sobering and charming, Bascom explores why soccer matters so much in our common, everyday lives, and how this ordinary yet extraordinary game can bring us all a little closer together.

His passionate vision for this most global game leads Bascom to describe how soccer brought him sanity in the middle of a brutal revolution in Ethiopia and how bridging divisions of race and culture was key to success for teams he joined in Chicago and Kansas. From watching Arsenal’s energetic rise in the Premier League to the bravery of a besieged Afghanistan Women’s National Team, and from pickup games in the Midwest and the Middle East, Bascom finds universal truths and deeply human meaning in the beautiful game of soccer.

Tim Bascom, who spent half his childhood in East Africa, has served as Director of the Kansas Book Festival and, before that, as Director of Creative Writing at Waldorf University, Iowa. His books include The Boundless Game (nonfiction from University Press of Kansas, 2026), Continental Drift (fiction from Main Street Rag, 2025), Climbing Lessons (essays from Light Messages Press, 2020), Running to the Fire (memoir from University of Iowa Press, 2015), Chameleon Days (memoir from Houghton Mifflin, 2006), plus an earlier collection of essays from InterVarsity Press and a novel from New Day Press, Philippines. His writing has been chosen for the Bakeless Literary Prize in Nonfiction, recognized as a Finalist for the IndieFab Memoir of the Year, awarded editor’s prizes at The Missouri Review and Florida Review, and selected for the anthologies Best American Travel Writing and Best Creative Nonfiction. He lives, now, in Topeka, Kansas.

Dr. Shannon Jackson, Professor and Chair of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Please Note: There are no refunds for this event. If you are unable to attend, your book will be available for pickup at Rainy Day Books starting the following day. If you are not local, we'll be happy to mail it to you upon request. Thank you for your support!

We will hold your event book in-store for a maximum of 6 months following the event. If you have not retrieved your book in that time period, it will be donated.

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