Nicolas Roche’s book ‘Inside the Peloton’ has been short listed for a third major award, and now is among the runners for “William Hill Sports Book of the Year”.
The latest nomination follows his win in the ‘Bord Gais Energy Sports Book of the Year’ and his short listing for the overall ‘Bord Gais Energy Book of the Year’.
William Hill head of international public relations, Tony Kenny said his company’s competition comes at the end of a great year for sports book publishing, meaning this year’s short list was particularly strong.
“We have four different sports in contention this year and some of Ireland’s finest sports writers. The standard is extremely high with all six books showcasing excellent sports stories that are brilliantly told by the authors,” Kenny said.
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The winner will be picked by a panel of 11 judges. However, there will also be a public vote, with that poll’s outcome effectively counting as a 12th judge.
It means the public vote will not be as influential as in the Bord Gais book awards, which were heavily weighted towards the public vote.
As well as ‘Inside the Peloton’, which was written by Roche with sports journalist Gerard Cromwell, former pro Paul Kimmage is also nominated for his book on paralysed rugby player Matt Hampson.
“Engage, The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson,” chronicles the life story of the promising England U-21 international, who was paralysed when a scrum collapsed during a training session.
The book looks at Hampson’s life after the accident and how he has pieced his life back together.
Kimmage has won numerous awards for his journalism in The Sunday Times and his first book ‘A Rough Ride’ was very successful both in bagging significant sales and collecting a number of awards when it was first published.
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While his telling of Hampson’s story is a compelling read that will likely prove popular with the judges, Roche’s and Cromwell’s effort is just as engaging and honest.
It will give all of the other books short listed a close run when the judges are deliberating and the public casting their votes.
With books on GAA always proving popular in the William Hill award in the past, this year is no different with two such offerings having made the shortlist.
“Life, Death and Hurling” by Michael Duignan with Pat Nolan looks at Duignan’s life as an Offaly All Ireland medal winning player and also tells the story of his off-field struggles.
“Without a Shadow of a Doubt” by Joe Kernan with Martin Breheny is also on the shortlist.
Kernan has been at the heart of Armagh GAA for over 30 years. He has been an All Ireland winning manager with Armagh and a club All Ireland winning manager with Crossmaglen.
The story also looks at Kernan’s life away from the game, including his being declared bankrupt last year as the recession hit hard.
The final two books nominated are from the Sport of Kings.
Champion jockey Tony McCoy’s “AP McCoy”, written with Donn McClean, makes the list.
Paul Carberry’s “One Hell of a Ride”, which was written with Des Gibson, is also there. As well as detailing his career highs, the book also examines Carberry’s battle with alcohol.
Past winners of the William Hill award include Paul McGrath and Cork hurler Dónal Óg Cusack. Last year’s prize went to Christy O’Connor’s ‘The Club’, which was one of the big achievers in Irish publishing both in 2010 and over the past year.
For details of voting, keep an eye on:
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