Author Sparked a Viral Debate with the Phrase 'Wawa Sub' — Why She Says She's 'Right' (Exclusive)

Chiara KimFri, April 3, 2026 at 6:10 PM UTC

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Credit: B.K Borison/Instagram; Shutterstock -

Author B.K. Borison started a viral debate after fans questioned her calling a Wawa hoagie a “sub” in her book

Borison defended the word choice by emphasizing that people from Baltimore call the sandwich a "sub," not a "hoagie," and the character who says "sub" is from Baltimore

Borison told PEOPLE while she didn't intend to start a viral discourse by writing the phrase, she stands by her choice as a Baltimore native and for editorial reasons

An author started a passionate Internet discourse over the name of a beloved sandwich.

B.K. Borison accidentally sparked a viral discourse after calling a Wawa hoagie “a sub from Wawa” in her book And Now, Back to You. She told PEOPLE that she stands by the word because she and the character who said it are both from Baltimore, where people call the sandwich a sub.

And Now, Back to You features two rival meterologists named Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart who, after many disastrous run-ins, become friends and are forced to cover a snowstorm together in a twist on the film When Harry Met Sally.

In Borison's novel 'And Now, Back to You', one character spots a Wawa subCredit: Berkley

The viral controversy started when Delilah saw “a guy leaning against the bumper, eating a sub from Wawa."

The seemingly innocuous detail led to a viral Threads post on March 23, saying, “the phrase “a sub from wawa” in the book I’m reading (and absolutely loving) might just haunt me.”

“A SUB?????? FROM WAWA?????????,” the offended reader wrote, leading to a viral conversation.

"Idk what’s happening in these comments but 1000% if it’s from Wawa it’s a friggin hoagie," one commenter replied.

Borison told PEOPLE she didn't anticipate any sort of reaction to her use of the phrase "a sub from Wawa" while writing the book.

"Never did I imagine that literal thousands of people would be weighing in on the subject of 'sub' terminology," she said. She added that it wasn't "intentional" or a "choice," but merely a reflection of how people from Baltimore talk.

"I didn't realize that 'hoagie' was an acceptable choice to call a 'sub,'" the Baltimore native said. "Nobody from Baltimore calls a 'sub' anything but a 'sub.'"

Borison participated in the online discourse surrounding the contentious naming topic on Threads.

“I don’t know what to tell you, but I said sub from wawa and I meant it. 😂,” she wrote on March 23.

She later shared a photo of a seemingly exhausted Ben Affleck to encapsulate her feelings after engaging in the debate.

“Me trying to explain to people that a fictional character would never refer to a sub as a hoagie, even if Wawa does in fact call it a hoagie on their menu, because she is from Baltimore and no one in Baltimore calls it a hoagie,” she captioned the photo.

The author told PEOPLE that while she doesn't typically involve herself in social media "arguments," she took a stand in this case because it was a matter of narrative accuracy.

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Author B.K. Borison sparked an online discourse about the correct way to call a Wawa sandwichCredit: Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty

"From a story structure standpoint, it makes no sense for the character to refer to it as a 'hoagie'," she said of the female lead, Delilah. "She's from Baltimore, you know, she wouldn't make an observation just because of a menu name."

"She saw it, she called it a 'sub' because people in Baltimore call it a 'sub,' and so even I feel like if people flagged it during the review process, I would still be right," the author said with a laugh.

Borison said the book was read by her editor and various other individuals at the publishing house prior to publication, along with undergoing a "very intense copy editing phase," and no one flagged the word "sub" as an issue.

She said that she found the viral debate "really funny."

"It was a funny thing to pop out from the whole story," Borison said. "It's such a throwaway line, it's such an observational moment that I thought it was really silly, and I thought it was a fun little tidbit from the book to engage with."

Wawa responded to the viral topic by sending Borison a package containing two hats, one with a sandwich patch and another that said “hoagies” on it.

“We couldn’t resist,” the brand, who signed the card “your friends at Wawa,” wrote. “Sending some love from the home of the hoagie, BK! Next ‘sub’ is on us.”

Wawa also pranked customers on April Fool’s Day, posting an image of a Wawa hoagie wrapped in paper printed with “Wawa subs” and saying they were “making an important change.”

“Cry laughing,” Borison replied.

Borison said her usual Wawa "sub" order is an Italian sub with extra lettuce and extra dressing.

As for what Borison will call the sandwich in the future, she said "I don't think I could ever use the word 'hoagie' in casual conversation, but I appreciate the people of Philadelphia for trying their best."

Wawa told Today.com they call their sandwiches hoagies, regardless of location.

“More than anything, we’re always honored by the love our customers have for our products and our brand. When it comes to the hoagie, that passion runs especially deep,” Wawa told the outlet. “To many, the hoagie is synonymous with Wawa and we are delighted the hoagie is being honored, celebrated and enjoyed!”

Wawa did not immediately reply to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”