The 17 books nominated in the Longlist for the 2018 William Hill Sports Book of the Year has now been whittled down to the final 7 titles, and they are as follows:

1. Fear and Loathing on the Oche: A Gonzo Journey Through the World of Championship Darts by King ADZ (Yellow Jersey)
2. Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian (Simon & Schuster)
3. The Boy on the Shed by Paul Ferris (Hodder & Stoughton)
4. The Lost Soul of Eamonn Magee by Paul D. Gibson (Mercier Press)
5. A Boy in the Water by Tom Gregory (Particular Books)
6. Berlin 1936: Sixteen Days in August by Oliver Hilmes (The Bodley Head)
7. Sevens Heaven: The Beautiful Chaos of Fiji’s Olympic Dream by Ben Ryan (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

The only surviving book focusing on football is The Boy on the Shed by Paul Ferris.

About the author: Paul Ferris was a teenage prodigy, becoming Newcastle United’s youngest-ever player in 1982, only for injury to ensure his promise went unfulfilled. He later returned to the club as a physiotherapist before earning a Master’s degree and beginning a successful quest to qualify as a barrister. But the lure of football was always strong and he went back for a third spell at Newcastle, as Head of the Medical Department, again working closely with a host of big-name players and managers. Paul also became a novelist and now runs a successful health and fitness business.

The winner will be announced at an afternoon reception at BAFTA on Tuesday 27 November.