Joey Barton autobiography in running for sports book of year

Rangers' Joey Barton is in the running for a literary prize. Picture: John Devlin

No Nonsense, the no-holds-barred story of the Rangers midfielder’s colourful career, has been longlisted for the 2016 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, which claims to be “sports writing’s most valuable and prestigious prize”.

Barton has been promoting the book this week while serving a three-week club suspension following a bust-up with his Rangers team-mate Andy Halliday in training.

The book was co-written with repsected sportswriter Michael Calvin, whose previous works include The Nowhere Men, about football scouts, and Living On The Volcano, about football management.

Also on the longlist is For the Glory: The Life of Eric Liddell by Duncan Hamilton, who has twice won the award previously for biographies of Brian Clough and Harold Larwood.

A £28,000 cash prize is on offer for the winning author along with a free £2,500 William Hill bet, and a day at the races.

The judging panel is made up of journalist and broadcaster Mark Lawson; retired professional footballer and former chairman of the Professional Footballer’s Association, Clarke Carlisle; broadcaster and writer John Inverdale; broadcaster Danny Kelly; award-winning journalist Hugh McIlvanney; and The Times columnist and author, Alyson Rudd. Chair of Judges is Graham Sharpe, co-creator of the Award alongside John Gaustad, founder of the Sportspages bookshop, who retired following the 2015 Award and passed away earlier this year.

The shortlist will be announced on 18 October. The winner will be announced on 24 November.

Longlist for William Hill Sports Book of the Year (alphabetically by author’s surname):

Today We Die a Little: The Rise & Fall of Emil Zátopek, Olympic Legend by Richard Askwith (Yellow Jersey Press)

No Nonsense: The Autobiography by Joey Barton, with Michael Calvin (Simon & Schuster)

Endurance: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Emil Zátopek by Rick Broadbent (Wisden)

Football’s Coming Out: Life as a Gay Fan and Player by Neil Beasley with Seth Burkett (Floodlit Dreams)

‘How’s Your Dad?’: Embracing Failure in the Shadow of Success by Mick Channon Jr (Racing Post Books)

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan (Corsair)

For the Glory: The Life of Eric Liddell by Duncan Hamilton (Doubleday)

Watching the Wheels: My Autobiography by Damon Hill, with Maurice Hamilton (Macmillan)

Forever Young: The Story of Adrian Doherty, Football’s Lost Genius by Oliver Kay (Quercus)

Eat Sweat Play: How Sport Can Change Our Lives by Anna Kessel (Macmillan)

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight (Simon & Schuster)

Chasing Shadows: The Life & Death of Peter Roebuck by Tim Lane and Elliot Cartledge (Hardie Grant Books)

The Belt Boy by Kevin Lueshing and Mike Dunn (Austin Macauley Publishers)

Mr Darley’s Arabian: High Life, Low Life, Sporting Life – A History of Racing in 25 Horses by Christopher McGrath (John Murray)

Find a Way: One Untamed and Courageous Life by Diana Nyad (Macmillan)

Mister: The Men Who Taught the World How to Beat England at Their Own Game by Rory Smith (Simon & Schuster)

We Had Some Laughs: My Dad, The Darts and Me by Dan Waddell (Bantam Press)

Click here for the latest results, fixtures and stats>>>