Thompson does the double at the Sports Book Awards

England Rugby World Cup winner Steve Thompson won two prizes at the Sports Book Awards while English Lioness Beth Mead also scored for her memoir about her journey to the Euros. 

The awards ceremony took place on Wednesday evening (24th May) at the Kia Oval, London, with a host of authors, athletes and sports stars in attendance.

Thompson picked up the Francis Clark Financial Planning Rugby Book of the Year Award, in association with the Rugby Union Writers’ Club, as well as the Sunday Times Overall Sports Book of the Year for his book, Unforgettable: Rugby, Dementia and the Fight of My Life (Blink Publishing).  

Once England’s most capped hooker who played for Northampton Saints and the British and Irish Lions, Thompson has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia and now campaigns to improve safety and safeguarding in rugby. 

Mead, who led England’s winning UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 team and won Sports Personality of the Year 2022, won the Sunday Times Autobiography of the Year in a people’s vote for her book, Lioness: My Journey to Glory (Seven Dials), which recounts her journey to the top of the game and covers England’s triumphant Euros campaign.  

Gary Neville’s book, The People’s Game, was judged to be the best Pinsent Masons Sports Writing book. His latest work features interviews with those at the epicentre of football’s biggest issues, from ownership and funding to racism and the growth of women’s football.  

David Willis, the chairman and founder of the prizes, said: “We celebrate the 21st annual presentation of the Sports Book Awards, in association with the Sunday Times newspaper at a time when reading and book sales have enjoyed a post-pandemic boom. Tonight’s event enjoys great support in both the publishing and sporting communities, and it has rightly won plaudits for being not only a highly enjoyable evening’s entertainment, but also making an important contribution to highlighting a host of tremendous sporting titles.”

The awards in full 

• The Sunday Times Autobiography of the Year: Lioness: My Journey to Glory, Beth Mead (Seven Dials, Orion)  
• The Children’s Sports Book Prize, sponsored by the JP Marland Charity Trust, in association with the National Literacy Trust: The Funny Life of Football, written by James Campbell and illustrated by Rob Jones (Bloomsbury) 
• The Heartaches’ Cricket Book of the Year: An Island’s Eleven: The Story of Sri Lankan Cricket, Nicholas Brookes (The History Press)  
• Cycling Book of the Year: Beryl: In Search of Britain’s Greatest Athlete, Jeremy Wilson (Pursuit Books)  
• Socios.com Sports Entertainment Book of the Year: The Wood Life: A Not so Helpful How-To Guide on Surviving Cricket, Life and Everything in Between, Mark Wood (Allen & Unwin)  
• Geoff Neal Football Book of the Year, in association with the Football Writers’ Association: 1999: Manchester United, the Treble and All That, Matt Dickinson (Simon & Schuster UK)  
• The Vikki Orvice Award for New Women’s Sports Writing: A Woman’s Game: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Women’s Football, Suzanne Wrack (Faber)  
• Rathbones Illustrated Book of the Year: Heart of Midlothian, 51 Shirts, Grant Young (Pitch Publishing)  
• LoveReading International Sports Book of the Year: So Help Me Golf: Why We Love the Game, Rick Reilly (Headline)  
• Francis Clark Financial Planning Rugby Book of the Year, in association with the Rugby Union Writers’ Club: Unforgettable, Steve Thompson (Blink Publishing)  
• Pinsent Masons Sports Writing Award: The People’s Game, Gary Neville (Hodder & Stoughton) 
• The Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year: Unforgettable, Steve Thompson (Blink Publishing