William Hill names Sports Book of 2009 shortlist
16th October 2009
The six titles making up the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2009 shortlist have been confirmed.
Ring of Fire, the insider's account of the Moto GP world by Rick Broadbent, and Nicholas Clee's biography of the legendary thoroughbred racehorse Eclipse have been named as contenders for the award's GBP 21,000 prize and a GBP 2,000 free bet.
Also in the running are Duncan Hamilton's cricketing biography Harold Larwood and Confessions of a Rugby Mercenary by John Daniell, which exposes the life of the journeyman player.
The shortlist is completed by Feet of the Chameleon, a study of African football by Ian Hawkey, and Graham Joyce's sports and writing memoir Simple Goalkeeping Made Spectacular.
Commenting on the challenge of choosing the finalists, the award's founder and William Hill media director Graham Sharpe revealed that the prize, now in its 21st year, received a record 152 entries which needed to be whittled down to a 13-strong longlist before the shortlist was selected.
Last year, former England batsman Marcus Trescothick and his co-writer Peter Hayter won the Sports Book of the Year accolade for the cricketer's autobiography Coming Back To Me.