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Indie publishers Portico and Quercus have made the "bookies' dozen" of titles longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2009. The list is otherwise dominated by Random House, with six titles, plus two from Macmillan, and two from HarperCollins. Mainstream has the 13th title on the list.
Former Bookseller editor Nicholas Clee is nominated for Eclipse: Story of the Rogue, the Madam and the Horse that changed Racing.
Now in its 21st year, the prize is the world's richest for a sports book award, with the winner recieving £21,000 plus a £2,000 William Hill bet, a handbound copy of the book, and a day at races.The runners-up receive £3,000, plus a £1,000 William Hill bet, and a leatherbound copy of their book. The longlisted authors who miss out on the shortlist win a £250 free bet.
The shortlist will be revealed on October 15th, and the winner on the 26th November.
The longlist:
Cantona: The Rebel Who Would be King by Philippe Auclair (Macmillan)
Ring of Fire: The Inside Story of Valentino Rossi and MotoGP by Rick Broadbent (Bantam)
Eclipse: Story of the Rogue, the Madam and the Horse that changed Racing by Nicholas Clee (Bantam)
Confessions of a Rugby Mercenary by John Daniell (Ebury)
We Could Be Heroes: Two Blokes, One Van, 12 World Championships by Tom Fordyce and Ben Dirs (Macmillan)
Harold Larwood: The Authorized Biography of the World's Fastest Bowler by Duncan Hamilton (Quercus)
Feet of the Chameleon: The Story of Football in Africa by Ian Hawkey (Portico)
The Last Champion: The Life of Fred Perry by Jon Henderson (Yellow Jersey Press)
The Years of the Locust: A True Story of Murder, Money and Mayhem in the Last Age of Boxing by Jon Hotten (Yellow Jersey Press)
Simple Goalkeeping Made Spectacular: A Riotous Footballing Memoir about the Loneliest Position on the Field by Graham Joyce (Mainstream)
Why England Lose - And Other Curious Football Phenomena Explained by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski (Harper)
Jacobs Beach: The Mob, The Garden and the Golden Age of Boxing by Kevin Mitchell (Yellow Jersey Press)
Get Her Off The Pitch: How Sport Took Over My Life by Lynne Truss (4th Estate)