The Racket longlisted for William Hill Sports Book of the Year

THE LONGLIST FOR the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2024 has been announced.

17 books have been nominated, including ‘The Racket’ by former Irish tennis player Conor Niland. ‘The Racket’ was written in collaboration with The 42′s Gavin Cooney.

𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑫𝑼𝑪𝑰𝑵𝑮…

The William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2024 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕! 🏆

Our reading panel have spent months reviewing hundreds of entries and ONE of these books will be crowned William Hill Sports Book of the Year:

These Heavy Black Bones - @raajulubushell… pic.twitter.com/DAxEtrmT5m

— William Hill Sports Book Of The Year (@BookiePrize) October 3, 2024

The longlist, in full, is as follows:

• These Heavy Black Bones – Rebecca Achieng Adulu-Bushell
• A Culture of Kits – John Blair
• Headshot – Rita Bullwinkel
• When I Passed The Statue Of Liberty I Became Black – Harry Edward
• Searching for Novak – Mark Hodgkinson
• Unique – Kelly Holmes
• More Than A Game – David Horspool
• Extra Time Beckons, Penalties Loom – Adam Hurrey
• Richie Benaud’s Blue Suede Shoes – David Kynaston
• Angel of the Mountains – PaulMaunder5
• The Racket – Conor Niland
• Warming Up – Madeline Orr
• Munichs – David Peace
• My Beautiful Sisters – Khalida Popal
• It’s Not Banter, It’s Racism – Azeem Rafiq
• The Race to be Myself – Caster Semenya
• LIV and Let Die – Alan Shipnuck

Nancy Froston (The Athletic), Neil Foggin (William Hill) and Matt Williams (Greatest Hits Radio) make up this year’s judging panel. 

The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is its 36th year, having began in 1989. It is described as the “richest, most prestigious literary sports book prize in the world,” with the prize worth £30,000. 

‘Good For a Girl’ by Lauren Fleshman won last year’s edition, while Paul Kimmage is among its previous winners.

You can read an interview with Conor Niland about The Racket on The 42 here >

Excellent news this morning! The Racket has been longlisted for the 2024 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award! Delighted to be included in this fantastic list. @BookiePrize @PenguinUKBooks @PenguinIEBooks @gcooney93 https://t.co/UcuPETVRuU

— Conor Niland (@conorniland1) October 3, 2024