Night Games by Anna Krien named William Hill Sports Book of the Year
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http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/nov/27/anna-krien-wins-william-hill-sports-book-of-year-award Version 0 of 1. Night Games by Anna Krien, described as a “balanced yet fearless” investigation into the darkest recesses of sporting culture, has been named William Hill Sports Book of the Year. Described by the judges as a “painstaking, intelligent, but above all, open-minded examination of an immensely complicated area”, Night Games follows the controversial rape trial of an Aussie Rules player, focusing on what Krien – only the second woman to take the award following Laura Hillenbrand for Seabiscuit: The True Story of Three Men and a Racehorse in 2001 – describes as the “grey area” of sexual consent. William Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe said: “Despite the challenging nature of its subject matter, Anna Krien’s book is balanced yet fearless, and as compelling and involving as any previous winner. “Quite possibly only a woman could have written it in as personal and perceptive a manner. Anna is the second woman to have won the award and she had to beat one of the strongest, most varied line-ups in our 26-year history. “It remains disappointing that on average, under 10% of the books submitted each year are written by females, and we hope that Anna’s success will encourage many more women to write about sport.” The Australian writer collects a £26,000 cheque for her triumph which saw her beat a memoir by the former rugby star Gareth Thomas and biographies of Bobby Moore and John Curry. The award has twice been won by The Guardian’s Donald McRae: for In Black and White: The Untold Story of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens in 2002; and Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing in 1996. The Sports Book of the Year shortlist Night Games: Sex, Power and a Journey into the Dark Heart of Sport by Anna Krien (Yellow Jersey Press) Played in London: Charting the Heritage of a City at Play by Simon Inglis (English Heritage) Alone: The Triumph and Tragedy of John Curry by Bill Jones (Bloomsbury) Run or Die by Kilian Jornet (Viking) Bobby Moore: The Man in Full by Matt Dickinson (Yellow Jersey Press) Floodlights and Touchlines: A History of Spectator Sport by Rob Steen (Bloomsbury) Proud: My Autobiography by Gareth Thomas and Michael Calvin (Ebury Press) Previous winners 2013 Doped: The Real Life Story of the 1960s Racehorse Doping Gang by Jamie Reid 2012 The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle 2011 – A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke by Ronald Reng 2010 Beware of the Dog: Rugby’s Hardman Reveals All by Brian Moore 2009 Harold Larwood: The Authorized Biography of the World’s Fastest Bowler by Duncan Hamilton 2008 Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography by Marcus Trescothick 2007 Provided You Don’t Kiss Me: 20 Years With Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton 2006 Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson by Geoffrey Ward 2005 My Father and Other Working-Class Football Heroes by Gary Imlach 2004 Basil D’Oliveira: Cricket and Controversy by Peter Oborne 2003 Broken Dreams: Vanity, Greed and the Souring of British Football by Tom Bower 2002 In Black and White: The Untold Story of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens by Donald McRae 2001 Seabiscuit: The True Story of Three Men and a Racehorse by Laura Hillenbrand 2000 It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong 1999 A Social History of English Cricket by Derek Birley 1998 Angry White Pyjamas: An Oxford Poet Trains with the Tokyo Riot Police by Robert Twigger 1997 A Lot of Hard Yakka: Triumph and Torment - A County Cricketer’s Life by Simon Hughes 1996 Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing by Donald McRae 1995 A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour by John Feinstein 1994 Football Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper 1993 Endless Winter: The Inside Story of the Rugby Revolution by Stephen Jones 1992 Fever Pitch; A Fan’s Life by Nick Hornby 1991 Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser 1990 Rough Ride: An Insight Into Pro Cycling by Paul Kimmage 1989 True Blue: The Oxford Boat Race Mutiny by Daniel Topolski and Patrick Robinson |