The Sports Bookshelf

It has not been the worst of years for the sports section of the publishing business.  In the lead-in to Christmas, the autobiography of motorcycle racer, TV presenter and all-round speed freak Guy Martin is at around 10th in the list of general best sellers -- ahead of Russell Brand and John Cleese and keeping company with Jamie Oliver's latest must-have cook book -- and of the two sports blockbusters of 2014 Roy Keane has blown Kevin Pietersen out of the water to claim a place in the top 20. Away from the mega-sellers, though, turning a worthwhile profit from a sports book remains a tough challenge, regardless of the quality of the writing.  The big publishing houses have seldom been more cautious about investing in a sports title with many showing little interest in anything that doesn't shout 'guaranteed best seller'. Yet there is one company that remains a beacon of hope for sports authors aspiring or established. Pitch Publishing , the Worthing-based outfit e

Three years after his first book was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, Yorkshire writer Bill Jones is again a contender for the richest prize in sports literature. Alone: The Triumph and Tragedy of John Curry is one of seven contenders for the £26,000 cash prize that comes with the title of William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2014. Jones, a former Yorkshire Evening Press journalist who became an award-winning documentary maker during 27 years with Granada Television , has put together the full story previously untold of Britain's 1976 Olympic figure skating champion, who died at the age of only 44 after contracting Aids. Painstakingly researched over three years, it is a moving story about a man who was a deeply troubled and ultimately tragic figure but also a book that pays proper tribute to a competitor of enormous artistic talent and an extraordinary drive to be the best. Jones reveals that Curry turned to skating only after his father, a fa

When cricket writer Chris Waters delivered the manuscript for Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography to his publisher three years ago, he told friends his first book would also be his last, echoing the words of countless writers before him. The journey from first thoughts to final page can be long and arduous, so grueling sometimes that many vow never to go there again. A modest man, not inclined to blow his own trumpet, Waters wasn't sure whether he had done a good job or otherwise.  The reviews, however, were highly complimentary. Indeed, Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography won a hat-trick of awards: Wisden Book of the Year, MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year and British Sports Book Awards Cricket Book of the Year. The thousands of readers who shared the enthusiasm of the award judges will be delighted to learn that Trueman was not his last book.  The second is due out next month. 10 for 10: Hedley Verity and the Story of Cricket's Greatest Bowling Feat is prob

Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson, written by award-winning journalist Paul Kimmage and published by Simon & Schuster, has been named as the British Sports Book Awards overall 'Sports Book of the Year' for 2012 after a public online vote.  Sports book fans were invited to name their favourite from the winning titles in each category from the British Sports Book Awards. Engage , deemed by the awards judges to be the best biography of the year at last month's British Sports Book Awards ceremony at the Savoy Hotel in London, tells the moving story of Matt Hampson , a promising young rugby player who was paralysed from the neck down after an accident in an England training session. Remarkably, Hampson has adjusted with enormous courage to a limited everyday life.  He is constantly attached to breathing equipment because the damage to his body left him unable to inflate and deflate his lungs unaided yet attended the awards dinner alongside Kimmage. Mick De

Already recognised for its outstanding quality by being crowned William Hill Sports Book of the Year last autumn, Ronald Reng’s brilliant biography of tragic German football star Robert Enke completed a memorable double when the judges at the 2012 British Sports Book Awards determined it to be the best in the Football Book category. A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke (Yellow Jersey), the story of the German national team goalkeeper who took his own life while suffering from depression, was voted top of the pile among a strong field that included former Manchester City player Paul Lake’s wonderful autobiography I’m Not Really Here and Ian Ridley’s assessment of the impact of the Premier League, There’s A Golden Sky. Cricket writer Chris Waters , meanwhile, scooped his third award when Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography (Aurum Press)   was named Cricket Book of the Year. The Yorkshire Post cricket correspondent’s highly acclaimed life of the Yorkshire and Engla

BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2012 A wonderfully nostalgic tour of some of Britain's lost cricket rounds by the journalist Chris Arnot that probably deserves to be among the cricket books of the year and an awe-inspiring celebration of some of Europe's most challenging competitive cycle climbs are among the frontrunners for Illustrated Book of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards 2012. The Sports Bookshelf outlines the six shortlisted titles as the build-up to the announcement of the winners in all categories continues. These will be revealed at a black tie dinner at The Savoy Hotel in London on Monday (May 21), when Nick Hornby will also be presented with an award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sports Writing’ some 20 years on from the publication of Fever Pitch . The winners from the 10 categories will then be entered into an online public vote to find the overall British Sports Book of the Year. Each winning title will be promoted in a media and retail cam