The Best of Sports Writing: The 23rd Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards Shortlist is here.

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