The world’s longest established and most valuable literary sports-writing prize, the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2025, has announced its longlist for this year’s competition.
Since 1989, the award has shone a spotlight on outstanding sports writing, with past winners including Duncan Hamilton, Michael Holding, Jeremy Wilson, Lauren Fleshman and last year’s victor Conor Niland for his book ‘The Racket’, which described the highs and lows of his tennis career on the ATP Tour.
The 2025 judging panel will be chaired by Alyson Rudd, with Clarke Carlisle, Elis James, Gabby Logan, Mark Lawson, Dame Heather Rabbatts and Michelle Wilder making up the rest of the panel.
Taking over from William Hill’s reading panel who considered a wide range of entries and selected 15 books that represent the very best in sports literature, it’s now down to the judges to whittle it down further into the shortlist, which’ll be announced on 30th October.
Covering a broad range of topics including football, cricket, athletics, global sporting cultures and deeply personal stories, the longlist demonstrates the power of sport to inspire, challenge and entertain.
The 15 longlisted titles for the 2025 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award are:
- Finding the Edge by Jimmy Anderson
- Ultra Women by Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson
- I Can’t Stop Thinking About VAR by Daisy Christodoulou
- The Warrior by Christopher Clarey
- States of Play by Miguel Delaney
- More Than a Shirt by Joey D’Urso
- European Football’s Greatest Grounds by Leon Gladwell
- Chasing Salah by Simon Hughes
- The Last Bell by Donald McRae
- Engulfed by James Montague
- Go to War by Jon Spurling
- The Escape by Pippa York and David Walsh
- Test Cricket by Tim Wigmore
- The Power and The Glory by Jonathan Wilson
- The Art of Batting by Jarrod Kimber
Neil Foggin, Media Manager at William Hill, and a member of the reading panel, said:
We’re delighted to unveil this year’s longlist for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. The breadth of topics covered has yet again surprised and inspired us – from the intricacies of cricket and football to the cultural and human stories that sport continues to generate across the globe. Conor Niland’s unforgettable win last year for his memoir, The Racket, became the first tennis book to scoop the prize in the award’s 36-year history and we’re excited to see who lands this year’s title, with the quality of entries on offer getting stronger each year. Narrowing down the entries was no easy task for our reading panel, but what we have is a collection of books that truly capture the drama, spirit and influence of sport in all its forms. Congratulations to all the authors who have made it this far; it’s a huge achievement to be longlisted for such a competitive award. We also wish our judging panel luck in finalising the shortlist over the coming month – a hugely challenging task!
The final shortlist will be announced on 30th October with the official awards ceremony taking place on 25th November where the winner will be announced.
The winning author will receive both the coveted William Hill Sports Book of the Year trophy as well as £30,000 in cash, whilst the rest of the shortlisted authors will receive a leather-bound copy of their book along with £3,000 in cash each.
Donald McRae will be looking to win the award for a record-equalling third time, having previously been victorious in 1996 and 2002 for Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing and In Black and White: The Untold Story of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens respectively. Duncan Hamilton holds the current record for most award wins with three.
