William Hill Sports Book of the Year Awards: Entries Open for World’s Most Valuable Literary Sports-Writing Prize

Entries are open for the world’s most valuable literary sports-writing prize – the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Awards. The competition, whose final will take place in December 2022, is the longest-established competition in the industry.

The Awards are dedicated to rewarding excellence in sports writing and, since launching in 1989, have attracted thousands of entries including books by last year’s winner Michael Holding, Nick Hornby, Marcus Trescothick and three-time winner Duncan Hamilton.

Now in its 34th year, organisers are encouraging authors and publishers to enter their sports book into the Awards which has a £30,000 cash prize for the winner.

Following a rigorous judging process from a panel including journalists, authors, sportspeople and industry leaders, the winner will be announced at an official awards ceremony held at BAFTA, London. As well as the winning prize, shortlisted authors will each receive £3,000 and a leather-bound copy of their book.

A book review panel will select a longlist in September 2022, and the shortlist will be announced late October 2022. The overall winner will be declared on 1st December 2022 at an official awards ceremony.

Book review panellist and renowned sports broadcaster, Matt Williams said: “The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Awards is the most respected prize in the industry, championing excellence in the sports literary world. The integrity of the judging process is key and panellists like myself read every book entered.

“For more than three decades, the awards have played a leading role in providing authors with a platform to showcase and promote their books and we expect this year to be our biggest yet.

“It’s not all about whether the book is a best-seller – it’s the writing we’re interested. We’re not just looking for a well-known author or even a well-known sport, but we want to see books from a diverse cross-section of writers covering a range of subjects.

“We’re incredibly excited for this year’s competition and it’s both a privilege and an honour to be able to judge the exceptional creative minds and writing talents within the sporting industry and celebrate their endeavours.”

Entries are now open. For more information about the awards and to enter, click here.