Billie Jean King, Siya Kolisi, Michael Holding, Frankie Dettori, Peter Schmeichel, Patrice Evra, Alun Wyn Jones, Clare Balding, Ian Wright, Adam Peaty, Tony Bellew, Troy Deeney, Marcus Rashford, Phil Tufnell, Sir Geoff Hurst, David Flatman and Mark Durden-Smith, Henry Blofeld, Jake Humphrey, Rob Burrow, Paul Merson, Jamie Roberts, Elise Christie, Eddie Jones, Olivier Giroud among those nominated for the 20th anniversary Sports Book Awards.
Mark Pougatch to host the 20th Sports Book Awards to take place at the Kia Oval on the evening of 26th May.
The Sports Book Awards to announce the Best Sports Book of the 21st Century at awards ceremony.
Bob Willis Fund to be the 2022 charity of choice.
The shortlists for the 20th Sports Book Awards in association with The Sunday Times have been announced this morning. The nominations feature some of the greatest sports men and women in a diverse collection of works across 11 award categories.
The shortlist for 2022 includes Billie Jean King, Siya Kolisi, Michael Holding, Frankie Dettori, Peter Schmeichel, Patrice Evra, Alun Wyn Jones, Clare Balding, Ian Wright, Adam Peaty, Tony Bellew, Troy Deeney, Marcus Rashford, Phil Tufnell, Sir Geoff Hurst, David Flatman and Mark Durden-Smith, Henry Blofeld, Jake Humphrey, Rob Burrow, Paul Merson, Jamie Roberts, Elise Christie, Eddie Jones, Olivier Giroud and many more.
Michael Holding who is shortlisted in 2 categories with Why We Kneel, How We Rise commented:
“A huge thank you to the Sports Books Awards for nominating Why We Kneel, How We Rise for the Best Sports Writing Book of the Year and for Best Cricket Book. We can only hope my book will continue to open eyes and hearts and educate and inspire people about racism in our society.”
The Sports Book Awards in association with The Sunday Times is the major annual promotion for sports writing and publishing. The awards exist to highlight the most outstanding sports books of the previous calendar year to showcase their merits and to enhance their reputation and profile.
The 2022 categories will include The Pinsent Masons Best Sports Writing Award, The Arbuthnot Latham Rugby Book of the Year, The Fitzdares International Autobiography of the Year, The Heartaches’ Cricket Book of the Year sponsored by Sir Tim Rice, the iPRO Hydrate Sports Performance Book of the Year and the Children’s Sports Book of the Year in partnership with the National Literacy Trust.
Clare Balding - BBC Sports presenter, former judge of the Sports Book Awards and nominated for the Children’s Sports Book of the Year says:
“I’m delighted that Fall Off has been nominated amongst so many great titles for young readers. I think we can learn so much from sport and from those who play sport, particularly about resilience and recovery from mistakes. For me, the really interesting decisions are made off the field of play and that’s what I wanted to share with readers.”
Siya Kolisi who is shortlisted with RISE for International Autobiography Book of the Year says:
“Having RISE being shortlisted as International Autobiography of The Year means a lot to me. I take it as a personal charge to keep working hard on myself, at home, on the field and in our communities. I continue to be grateful to the many communities and book team that played a role in shaping the story of RISE.”
The Sports Book Awards are judged by an outstanding academy including The Football Writers’ Association, The Rugby Union Writers’ Club, The Cricket Society, National Literacy Trust, Christine Ohuruogu, Adam Smith - the voice of Sky Boxing, Guillem Balagué - La Liga BBC Sport correspondent, Annie Vernon - Beijing Olympic rowing silver medallist with Dame Katherine Grainger, Seema Jaswal - ITV Sport and BBC Sport host, Jill Douglas and Simon Brotherton - the BBC Olympic Games cycling commentary team, Simon Halliday - former Bath and Harlequins and England Centre and Nick Greenslade Deputy Sports Editor of The Sunday Times.
In addition, a public vote is now open to find the winners in 4 categories at sportsbookawards.com - Autobiography of the Year, International Autobiography of the Year, Sports Performance Book of the Year and Sports Entertainment Book of the Year.
The Sports Book Awards, in association with The Sunday Times will take place at the Kia Oval on 26th May, presented by Mark Pougatch. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the awards a special award to the Best Sports Book of the 21st Century will be presented to a previous winner. Tickets for the Awards Ceremony are available to purchase at sportsbookawards.com.
Sports Book Awards Chairman, David Willis reflects:
“Twenty years of the Sports Book Awards sees a tremendous panorama of brilliant and colourful writing. Sports writing now attracts some of the finest talent in the English language and we are proud to be associated with such a successful and exhilarating genre.”
The Bob Willis Fund is the charity partner for the 2022 awards. The Bob Willis Fund has been set up to raise money for prostate cancer research and awareness, with the aim of achieving a national screening programme in the next 3-5 years. Please visit the Bob Willis Fund website for more information - https://bobwillisfund.org/
The Sports Book Awards in association with the Sunday Times – 2022 shortlists in full:
The Sunday Times Autobiography of the Year
- Francis Benali: The Autobiography, Francis Benali (Bloomsbury Sport)
- Belonging: The Autobiography, Alun Wyn Jones (Macmillan)
- Hooked: Addiction and the Long Road to Recovery, Paul Merson (Headline)
- Love of the Game, Ricky Hill with Adrian Durham (Pitch Publishing)
- Resilience, Elise Christie, Mark Eglinton (Reach Sport)
- Too Many Reasons to Live, Rob Burrow (Macmillan)
- Troy Deeney: Redemption, Troy Deeney (Cassell)
Children’s Sports Book of the Year, in association with the National Literacy Trust
- You Are a Champion, Marcus Rashford and Carl Anka (Macmillan Children's Books)
- Fall Off, Get Back On, Keep Going, Clare Balding, illustrated by Jessica Holm (Wren and Rook)
- How to Be a Footballer and Other Sports Jobs, Rachel Yankey, Illustrated by Sol Linero (Nosy Crow)
- Jaz Santos vs the World , Priscilla Mante (Puffin)
- Run Like a Girl, Danielle Brown (Button Books)
- Striking Out, Ian Wright, Musa Okwonga & illustrated by Benjamin Wachenje (Scholastic)
- I Love My Bike, Simon Mole, illustrated by Sam Usher (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
- Play Like Your Football Heroes: Pro tips for becoming a top player, Seth Burkett and Matt Oldfield, illustrated by Tom Jennings (Walker Books)
The Heartaches’ Cricket Book of the Year
- Beyond the Boundaries, Scyld Berry (Fairfield Books)
- It's Always Summer Somewhere , Felix White (Cassell)
- Never Surrender, Mark Peel (Pitch Publishing)
- Late Cuts: Musings on Cricket, Vic Marks (Allen & Unwin)
- Who Only Cricket Know, David Woodhouse (Fairfield Books)
- Why We Kneel, How We Rise, Michael Holding (Simon and Schuster UK)
Cycling Book of the Year
- Desire, Discrimination, Determination - Black Champions in Cycling, Dr Marlon Moncrieffe (Rapha)
- God is Dead: The Rise and Fall of Frank Vandenbroucke, Cycling's Great Wasted Talent, Andy McGrath (Bantam Press)
- Revolutions, Hannah Ross (W&N)
- The Art of Cycling, James Hibbard (Quercus)
- Vuelta Skelter, Tim Moore (Jonathan Cape)
- War on Wheels: Inside Keirin and Japan’s Cycling Subculture, Justin McCurry (Pursuit Books)
Illustrated Book of the Year
- England Rugby - 150 Years, The RFU, Phil McGowan and Richard Steele (Vision Sports Publishing)
- Extreme Like a Girl, Carolina Amell (Prestel)
- Liverpool Football Programmes: The Definitive Collector's Guide, Andy Marsden (LFCProgMan)
- Seve - His Life Through The Lens, David Cannon & Rob Green (Vision Sports Publishing)
- This Sporting Life - Gerry Cranham Photographer, Mark Leech & Doug Cheeseman (Offside Press)
- Toon In!, Michael Payne (Vision Sports Publishing)
- Why Everything You Know About Martial Arts Is Wrong*, Andrew G Stewart (Self-published)
- The People's Wimbledon, Richard Jones (Pitch Publishing)
Fitzdares International Autobiography of the Year
- All In: The Autobiography of Billie Jean King, Billie Jean King (Viking)
- Always Believe, Olivier Giroud with Dominique Rouch (Pitch Publishing)
- I Love This Game, Patrice Evra (Simon and Schuster UK)
- Leap of Faith, Frankie Dettori (HarperCollins)
- One: My Autobiography, Peter Schmeichel (Hodder & Stoughton)
- Rise: The Brand New Autobiography, Siya Kolisi (HarperCollins)
Arbuthnot Latham Rugby Book of the Year, in association with The Rugby Union Writers’ Club
- The Buck Props Here!, Anthony Buchanan with Geraint Thomas (Y Lolfa)
- Fight Or Flight, Keith Earls with Tommy Conlon (Reach Sport)
- Centre Stage, Jamie Roberts and Ross Harries (Hodder & Stoughton)
- Crossing The Line, Willie Anderson with Brendan Fanning (Reach Sport)
- The Flying Prince, Hugh Godwin (Hodder & Stoughton)
- This is Your Everest, Tom English & Peter Burns (Polaris Publishing)
Sports Entertainment Book of the Year
- How Not to be a Cricketer, Phil Tufnell (Simon and Schuster UK)
- Eighty at Eighty, Sir Geoff Hurst with Norman Giller (Pitch Publishing)
- Flats and Durders Offload, David Flatman & Mark Durden-Smith (Simon and Schuster UK)
- Not for Me, Clive, Clive Tyldesley (Headline)
- Ten to Win... And the Last Man In, Henry Blofeld (Hodder & Stoughton)
- The Champ & The Chump, James McNicholas (Headline)
Sports Performance Book of the Year
- The Gladiator Mindset, Adam Peaty (Quercus)
- Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Face, Tony Bellew (Seven Dials)
- High Performance, Jake Humphrey & Prof Damian Hughes (Random House Business)
- Move!: The New Science of Body Over Mind, Caroline Williams (Profile Books)
- Stronger, Poorna Bell (Bluebird)
- Leadership, Eddie Jones (Macmillan)
- All to Play For, Matt Rogan & Kerry Potter (Ebury Press)
Pinsent Masons Sports Writing Award
- Football, She Wrote, Various (Floodlit Dreams)
- Why We Kneel, How We Rise, Michael Holding (Simon and Schuster UK)
- Don Revie: The Biography, Christopher Evans (Bloomsbury Sport)
- Game On, Sue Anstiss (Unbound)
- The Boy, Richard Williams (Simon and Schuster UK)
- The Third Pole, Mark Synnott (Headline)
- Whose Game Is It Anyway?, Michael Calvin (Pitch Publishing)
Football Book of the Year, in association with the Football Writers’ Association
- Barça - The inside story of the world's greatest football club, Simon Kuper (Short Books)
- The Immortals, Arrigo Sacchi (BackPage Press)
- Maradona: The Boy. The Rebel. The God. Guillem Balague (W&N)
- The Greatest Show on Earth: The Inside Story of the Legendary 1970 World Cup, Andrew Downie (Arena Sport)
- FA Cup 150, Phil Annets (FACupFactfile, self-published)
- The Miracle 04 - The Football Team That Shocked The world, Vasilis Sambrakos (Pitch Publishing)
- The Dream Factory, Ryan Baldi (Polaris Publishing Limited)
