The shortlists for all 12 categories in the 23rd Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards in association with The Sunday Times have been announced this morning.
What is the Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards?
The Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards is a major annual promotion for sports writing and publishing. Existing in order to highlight the most outstanding sports books of the previous calendar year.
The 2025 shortlist nominations feature some of the greatest sports men and women in a diverse collection of works across the 12 different award categories. With sport specific as well as overarching fields the 2025 award categories are: The Charles Tyrwhitt Autobiography of the Year, in association with The Sunday Times, The Vikki Orvice Award for Women’s Sports Writing, in association with LoveReading, Children’s Sports Book of the Year, supported by National Literacy Trust & Waterstones, Cricket Book of the Year, Football Book of the Year, Golf Book of the Year, The JP Marland Charitable Trust Illustrated Book of the Year, Francis Clark Financial Planning International Sports Book of the Year, Charles Tyrwhitt Rugby Book of the Year, in association with the Rugby Union Writers' Club, Kicking Goat Sports Entertainment Book of the Year, Sports Performance Book of the Year, and Pinsent Masons Sports Writing Award.
We're thrilled to be able to support the Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards and be aligned with The Vikki Orvice Award for Women’s Sports Writing. This year's Vikki Orvice Award shines an important spotlight not only on women's sports but also on sporting history, historic sporting figures as well as the state of non-competitive cycling in the UK and the impact of climate change on sport.
Three of the award categories will be open to the public vote: The Charles Tyrwhitt Autobiography of the Year, Sports Entertainment Book of the Year, and Sports Performance Book of the Year. You can cast your vote online now by visiting sportsbookawards.com/vote.
Sports Book Awards Chairman, David Willis, reflecting on another exciting year in sports publishing, said:
“We are thrilled to be announcing the exceptional winners for 2025 at the Kia Oval and are particularly delighted to present a Special Lifetime Achievement Award to Roddy Bloomfield. A dear friend of the Sports Book Awards and Sir Alex Ferguson. Roddy is the publisher of over 1,000 titles spanning 66 sports, Roddy has made an indelible mark on the world of sports literature. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to him on this well-deserved recognition from everyone at the Sports Book Awards!”
The winners of the Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards will be presented on the 1st of May at a star-studded ceremony at the iconic Kia Oval. The event will be hosted by Mark Pougatch.
Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards Shortlists in full
Charles Tyrwhitt Autobiography of the Year, in association with The Sunday Times
All That Matters by Sir Chris Hoy with Matt Majendie
Brutal: My Autobiography by Iwan Thomas
Finding the Edge: The Autobiography by Jimmy Anderson with Felix White
Just One More Goal: The Autobiography of David Pleat by David Pleat
Leading From The Back: My journey to the top of women's football by Steph Houghton
Toxic: Tackling 'Razor' and Finding the Real Me by Neil Ruddock with John Woodhouse
Triumphs, Treachery and Toilet Rolls: The Francis Lee Autobiography by Bill Bradshaw
Unbroken by Katarina Johnson-Thompson with Sarah Shepherd
The Vikki Orvice Award for Women’s Sports Writing, in association with LoveReading
La Vie Jamais Racontée: Alice Milliat, a French Heroine and Sporting Suffragette by Nancy Gillen
My Beautiful Sisters: A Story of Courage, Hope and the Afghan Women’s Football Team by Khalida Popal
Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network by Laura Laker
Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water by Vicki Valosik
The Lost Lionesses: The incredible story of England’s forgotten trailblazers by Gail Emms
Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sport by Madeleine Orr
Pinsent Masons Sports Writing Award
More Than a Game: A History of How Sport Made Britain by David Horspool
Munichs by David Peace
States of Play: How Sportswashing Took Over Football by Miguel Delaney
The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Made F1 the World's Fastest-Growing Sport by Joshua Robinson & Jonathan Clegg
The Striker and the Clock by Georgia Cloepfil
These Heavy Black Bones by Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell
Children’s Sports Book of the Year, supported by National Literacy Trust & Waterstones
Bobby Bains Plays a Blinder by Bali Rai & Illustrated by Daniel Duncan
Fantastically Great Women Sports Stars and their Stories by Kate Pankhurst
Football Is For Everyone by Rico Hinson-King & Illustrated by Nick Sharratt
Lottie the Little Wonder by Katherine Woodfine & Illustrated by Ella Okstad
Me and Aaron Ramsey by Manon Steffan Ros
The Life-Changing Magic of Skateboarding by Sky Brown & Illustrated by Shaw Davidson
Try by Rob Burrow & Kevin Sinfield with Emma Adams & Illustrated by Ben Whitehouse
You Can Do Anything! by Jonnie Peacock with Laura Earnshaw & Illustrated by Ashwin Chacko
Cricket Book of the Year
Bill Edrich: The Many Lives of England's Cricket Great by Leo McKinstry
Getting Out: The Ukrainian Cricket Team's Last Stand on the Front Lines of War by Jonathan Campion
It's Not Banter, It's Racism: What Cricket’s Dirty Secret Reveals About Our Society by Azeem Rafiq
LARA: The England Chronicles by Brian Lara with Phil Walker
On Cricket by Sir Trevor McDonald
Richie Benaud's Blue Suede Shoes: The Story of an Ashes Classic by David Kynaston & Harry Ricketts
Football Book of the Year
Extra Time Beckons, Penalties Loom: How to Use (and Abuse) The Language of Football by Adam Hurrey
Go To War: Football on the Brink in the '80s by Jon Spurling
How to Win the Premier League: The Inside Story of Football’s Data Revolution by Ian Graham
I Can't Stop Thinking About VAR by Daisy Christodoulou
Jürgen Said to Me: Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool and the Remaking of a City by Dan Morgan
Namaste, Geezer: Life as a Fan and Journalist of Asian Heritage by Shekhar Bhatia
States of Play: How Sportswashing Took Over Football by Miguel Delaney
The Striker and the Clock by Georgia Cloepfil
Golf Book of the Year
Golf Is Hard by Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston
Golf Wars: LIV and Golf's Bitter Battle for Power and Identity by Iain Carter
LIV and Let Die by Alan Shipnuck
Open Links by Dominic Holland
Seve Ballesteros's Touch of Class: The 1984 Open Championship and the Meaning of Europe's Greatest Golfer by Kenny Reid
The Tiger Slam: The inside story of the greatest golf ever played by Kevin Cook
The JP Marland Charitable Trust Illustrated Book of the Year
Admiral: 50 Years of the Replica Shirt by Rob MacDonald, Adam Bushby & Lee Nash with contributions from John Devlin, Theo Hamburger & Admiral Sports
All To Play For: ITFC THE GEORGE BURLEY ERA 1994-2002 by Neil Prentice with George Burley
Black Arsenal by Clive Chijioke Nwonka & Matthew Harle
Blue Is The Colour: The Official History of the Chelsea Shirt by Nik Yeomans
Cup Tied: Stories and Scenes from the 150th Scottish Cup by Daniel Gray & Alan McCredie
One Shilling: The Football Programme Design Revolution of 1965-85 by Matthew Caldwell & Alan Dein
We Are Scottish Football by Julie McNeill with photography by Campbell Ramage
Wimbledon: The Pinnacle of Sport by Ian Hewitt & Bob Martin
Francis Clark Financial Planning International Sports Book of the Year
Believe: The Autobiography by Oleksandr Zinchenko
Chasing Salah: The Biography by Simon Hughes
Searching for Novak: The man behind the enigma by Mark Hodgkinson
The Showman by Glenn Maxwell with Adam Collins
Unfiltered: My Incredible Decade in Formula 1 by Guenther Steiner
View from the Second Row by Samuel Whitelock
Charles Tyrwhitt Rugby Book of the Year, in association with the Rugby Union Writers' Club
Everything Happens for a Reason: My Life in Rugby by Danny Care
Obsessed: The Autobiography by Johnny Sexton with Peter O'Reilly
The Biggar Picture: My Life in Rugby by Dan Biggar with Ross Harries
The Red Roses: Behind the Scenes with the England Women's Rugby Team by Jessica Hayden
This is Murrayfield: 100 Years of History in 100 Matches by Peter Burns & Rob Robertson
View from the Second Row by Samuel Whitelock
Kicking Goat Sports Entertainment Book of the Year
Around the World in 80 Fights: A Lifetime’s Journey to the Heart of Boxing by Steve Bunce
Chaos in the Box: Chronicles from Modern Football by David Squires
Dear Scotland: On the Road with the Tartan Army by Ally McCoist with Leo Moynihan
Saturday Afternoon Fever: The Autobiography by Jeff Stelling
The Good, the Bad & the Rugby - Unleashed by Alex Payne, James Haskell & Mike Tindall
Who Darts Wins!: Bullseyes, bounce-outs and the greatest game of all by John Woodhouse
Sports Performance Book of the Year
Bend, Don't Break: A Memoir of Endurance by Frank O'Mara
Hardest Geezer: Mind over Miles by Russ Cook
The Path We Run: A personal history of women's ultrarunning by Jen Benson
There is No Wall by Allie Bailey
To the Limit: The Meaning of Endurance from Mexico to the Himalayas by Michael Crawley
Trails and Tribulations: The Running Adventures of Susie Chan by Susie Chan
Tri Again: The Road from a Hospital Bed to Ironman by Chris Sheard
For more information about the Sports Book Awards 2025, visit sportsbookawards.com
Instagram: @sportsbookawards
Bluesky: @sportsbookawards.bsky.social
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