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The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award has announced a panel of industry experts.
The Athletic’s Nancy Froston, and Greatest Hits Radio’s Matt Williams, who were both involved in the award last year, will be joining Neil Foggin, from William Hill to review and evaluate the sports book entries for 2023. This is much to the delight and excitement of the event organizers.
The reading panel is made up of experts in their fields, with a wealth in sports knowledge and literary experience. They will play a key role in determining the longlist that will be announced by September.
Patrice Evra and Anyika Onuora were among the athletes and authors who entered 158 books last year. Jeremy Wilson, the winner of that year, was also one of them.
The Awards are now in its 35th year. Organisers encourage authors, journalists and athletes to submit their sports books. A grand prize of PS30,000 will be awarded for the overall winner. This award will be presented at the official awards ceremony at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly London on 30 the th Nov 2023. Each shortlisted author receives a generous PS3,000 cash prize and a leather-bound edition of their book.
Matt Williams, a highly regarded broadcaster and member of the book review panel, said: “It’s an honor to be back as part of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award Reading Panel this year, along with Nancy and Neil, both highly respected individuals in the sports industry.
The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award has been running for over 30 years and aims to reward and recognise the creativity of sporting authors. The Award has been a platform for hundreds of talented writers to get their names seen and read.
“Our main concern is to ensure a fair, impartial competition. We’re not interested in the author’s ranking outside the competition, but rather the quality of their writing and content.
“We encourage submissions that cover a variety of sports. Over the past 35 years, the diversity of sports topics has been immense. This is a testament to our previous winners’ diverse coverage of these subjects.
I’m very excited to begin reading the submissions this year from sports book fans and writers of the sports book genre. We encourage all authors, publishers, and agents to enter their titles early. All books are read by people, not algorithms, so we urge writers submit their book as soon as possible.
The Reading Panel will announce the shortlist in late October and the overall winner at the official award ceremony on 30th of November 2023.
