Double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes is among the six authors shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2024.
Holmes’ memoir Unique provides a fascinating insight into the British athlete’s private life, from her early career in the military to reaching the pinnacle of her sport, while concealing her identity as a gay woman until publicly coming out in 2022 at the age of 52.
Unique is one of three books penned by female authors to make the final selection ahead of the 36th awards, along with These Heavy Black Bones by former British swimming champion Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell and My Beautiful Sisters by Afghanistan women’s football team co-founder and captain Khalida Popal.
These Heavy Black Bones tells the storyofAjulu-Bushell, the first Black woman to swim for Great Britain, with My Beautiful Sisters highlighting Popal’s courageous work uncovering sexual abuse in Afghan football as a refugee in Europe, against the backdrop of the recapture of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021.
In a diverse selection of titles, David Peace’s Munichs – the history of Manchester United in the years following the 1958 Munich air crash – and former Irish professional tennis player Conor Niland’s memoir The Racket are also shortlisted.
Rounding off the final six contenders is When I Passed The Statue Of Liberty I Became Black by Harry Edward, a posthumous publication of the memoir of Britain’s first Black Olympic medal winner, who lived on both sides of the Atlantic during the civil rights movement in the mid-20th century.
Each author will hope to follow in the footsteps of Lauren Fleishman, a former USA national champion runner, who won last year’s award with her exploration of female sport and empowerment in Good for a Girl: My Life Running in a Man’s World.
The winner will be decided by the seven-person judging panel of Alyson Rudd, Clarke Carlisle, Gabby Logan, Dame Heather Rabbatts, Mark Lawson and Michelle Walder and announced at the awards ceremony in central London on Tuesday 19th November, with the prestigious trophy and £30,000 presented to the victorious author.
Alyson Rudd, Chair of the judging panel, said: “Selecting six titles to make this year’s William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award shortlist was no mean feat, from a longlist of 17 fantastic books.
“But we are delighted to announce the entries that have impressed us most, with their diverse range of perspectives exhibiting the very best of sports writing.
“We believe the final six achieve the perfect blend of making individual stories resonate with a wide audience, whether that be across athletics, football, swimming or tennis.
“These books tackle important topics such as sexual identity and race relations to go above and beyond the boundaries of their respective sports.
“We are excited to celebrate the fine work of all six authors when this year’s winner is announced on Tuesday 19th November.”
William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2024 shortlist:
- These Heavy Black Bones by Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell
- When I Passed The Statue Of Liberty I Became Black by Harry Edward
- Unique by Kelly Holmes
- The Racket by Conor Niland
- Munichs by David Peace
- My Beautiful Sisters by Khalida Popal
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