The 2026 longlist for the world’s longest established and most valuable literary sports writing prize, the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, has been announced.
Last year saw The Escape: The Tour, the Cyclist and Me, an eye-opening memoir from Scottish stage-race specialist Pippa York and Irish sports journalist David Walsh, named William Hill Sports Book of the Year. York and Walsh added their names to an esteemed list of past winners – including Nick Hornby, Duncan Hamilton, Michael Holding, Jeremy Wilson and Lauren Fleshman – of an award that since 1989 has shone a spotlight on outstanding sports writing.
The 2026 judging panel will be made up of Adrian Durham, Elis James, Mark Lawson, Christine Ohuruogu and Michelle Walder.
Taking over from William Hill’s reading panel, who considered a wide range of entries in selecting the 12 longlist titles, the judging panel’s task is to now whittle the list down further to a final shortlist, which will be announced on Thursday 29th October.
Covering a range of topics including football, cricket and cycling, as well as wider themes from fandom to addiction, the 12 longlist titles demonstrate the power of sport to unite, inspire and entertain.
The 12 longlisted titles for the 2026 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award are:
Neil Foggin, Media Manager at William Hill, and a member of the reading panel, said:
It’s a pleasure to announce the longlist for the 2026 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. We were once again struck by the originality of this year’s longlist titles, which provide a range of unique and often challenging perspectives on elite competition, conveying the personal as well as wide-reaching impact of sport. Last year saw a memorable success for Pippa York and David Walsh’s The Escape – their unique account of following the Tour de France – and we look forward to seeing which of our 12 longlist authors will scoop the highest accolade in sports writing this year. Narrowing down the entries to this point has taken great deliberation from our reading panel, but we feel the 12 books forming this year’s longlist are an inspiring reflection of some of the best sports writing around. We’re excited to see which of our selected titles makes our judging panel’s shortlist, to be announced next month, and we wish all nominated authors the very best of luck!
The final shortlist will be announced on Thursday 29th October, with the official awards ceremony taking place on 24thNovember where the winner will be announced.
The winning author will receive both the coveted William Hill Sports Book of the Year trophy as well as £25,000 in cash, whilst the rest of the shortlisted authors will receive a leather-bound copy of their book along with £2,500 in cash each.
Andy McGrath is the only former winner on the list, having won the 2017 award for his book Tom Simpson: Bird on the Wire, the story of one of British cycling’s greatest icons. Duncan Hamilton holds the current record for most award wins with three.