SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR

Judge a book by its cover

William Hill’s 2025 Sports Book of the Year winner will be crowned on Tuesday, 25th November. Who will walk away with the top prize? We’ll also be giving out an award for the best book cover from our recently announced longlist. Like last year, the ‘Judge A Book By Its Cover’ award will be voted for by you!

Vote for your favourite cover

You can view the 15 book covers from this year’s longlist below. All you need to do is scroll through and decide which one makes you think, ‘I want to read that’. Once you’ve made your choice, simply select your favourite and click ‘vote for this book’. Voting closes on Monday, 10th November, with the winner announced via @BookiePrize on Tuesday, 25th November.

MORE THEN A SHIRT

JOEY O'URSO

Cover by Jess Hart

ENGULFED

JAMES MONTAGUE

Cover by Dominic Forbes

THE LAST BELL

DONALD MCRAE

Cover by Craig Fraser

THE POWER AND THE GLORY

JONATHAN WILSON

Cover by Ben Prior

THE WARRIOR

RAFAEL NADAL

Cover by Sara Marafini

I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT VAR

DAISY CHRISTODOULOU

Cover by Jack Smyth

STATES OF PLAY

MIGUEL DELANEY

Cover by Justin Metz

GO TO WAR

JON SPURLING

Cover by Namkwan Cho

CHASING SALAH

SIMON HUGHES

Cover by Ben Prior

FINDING THE EDGE

JIMMY ANDERSON

Cover by Will Speed

THE ART OF BATTING

JARROD KIMBER

Cover by Luke Griffin

100 EUROPEAN GREATEST FOOTBALL GROUNDS

SIMON INGLIS

Cover by Duncan Olner

THE ESCAPE

PIPPA YORK AND DAVID WALSH

Cover by Claire Ward

ULTRA WOMEN

LILY CANTER AND EMMA WILKINSON

Cover by Simon Forster

TEST CRICKET

TIM WIGMORE

Cover by Andrew Smith

Further info on the SBOTY

The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award is the world’s oldest and most-valuable literary sports-writing prize. Former winners include Michael Holding, Duncan Hamilton, Lauren Fleshman, and Conor Niland– who won last year with his book ‘The Racket’.

An esteemed panel of judges

An esteemed panel of seven judges will be responsible for selecting the William Hill Sports Book of the Year shortlist and crowning the winner. This year, we’re delighted to welcome back Welsh comedian, actor and broadcaster - Elis James.

Alyson Rudd (Chair)

Alyson is an acclaimed award-winning sports journalist at The Times with a deep passion for the written word, a qualified football coach and referee, and the author of two sports books and two novels.

Mark Lawson

An accomplished broadcaster, writer and journalist. Mark is a critic and feature writer for The Guardian and theatre critic of The Tablet. He was the first presenter of Radio 4’s Front Row and has written six books.

Clarke Carlisle

Former professional footballer-turned-broadcaster with a football career spanning two decades and all four top-flight divisions. Clarke brings a unique perspective as an athlete, commentator and pundit.

Dame Heather Rabbatts

Renowned for her groundbreaking accomplishments in sports administration and broadcasting, Dame Heather has a profound understanding of the sports landscape. She was also the first woman to hold the position of Director of the Football Association.

Gabby Logan

A former international gymnast, Gabby now fronts coverage of some of sport’s biggest events, including the Olympic Games, Six Nations and FIFA World Cup, for the BBC. Gabby also hosts the iconic Match of the Day, presents a chart-topping podcast and is a regular columnist for The Times.

Michelle Walder

Michelle has a wealth of experience in the sporting industry having set-up her own business specialising in leadership and coaching in 2004. She is also a non-executive board member at Brighton and Hove Albion, and chair of their women’s team.

Elis James

We’re delighted to have Elis back on our judging panel for 2025. The Welsh comedian, actor and broadcaster co-hosts an award-winning podcast with John Robins on BBC Sounds. A huge sports fan, Elis also hosts the Elis James’ Feast of Football podcast with ex-Wales internationals Iwan Roberts and Danny Gabbidon.

Further info on the SBOTY

The winning author will receive £30,000 and a trophy. Shortlisted authors receive £3,000 and a leather-bound copy of their book. The ‘Judge A Book By Its Cover’ winner will receive £500.