(Reuters) - The longlist for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award was announced on Tuesday and twice winners Donald McCrae and Duncan Hamilton are in contention once again for the 2019 prize.
McCrae's book 'In Sunshine or in Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope in the Troubles' is based on how boxing trainer Gerry Storey ran his Belfast gym during the Troubles and trained fighters on both the Republican and Loyalist sides.
Hamilton's book 'The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus' revolves around the 20th century pioneer in cricket writing.
Newcomers who made the list include memoirs by English soccer player Eniola Aluko, who wrote on themes such as race and institutional prejudice, and Irish boxer Andy Lee on his struggles to get to the very top.
Autobiographies from soccer whistleblower Andy Woodward, who blew the lid on the scandal of sexual abuse in youth clubs, and striker Richie Sadlier, who struggled with depression after he was forced to retire at 24, also made the cut.
LONGLIST FOR 2019
They Don't Teach This: Lessons From the Game of Life - Eniola Aluko
Unbreakable: The Woman Who Defied the Nazis in the World's Most Dangerous Horse Race - Richard Askwith
The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance - Adharanand Finn
Homing - Jon Day
The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus - Duncan Hamilton
Fighter - Andy Lee with Niall Kelly
In Sunshine or in Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope in the Troubles - Donald McRae
The Beast, the Emperor and the Milkman: A Bone-shaking Tour through Cycling's Flemish Heartlands - Harry Pearson
ADVERTISEMENTRough Magic: Riding the World's Wildest Horse Race - Lara Prior-Palmer
Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump - Rick Reilly
How Football (Nearly) Came Home: Adventures in Putin's World Cup - Barney Ronay
Recovering - Richie Sadlier
ADVERTISEMENTPosition of Trust: A football dream betrayed - Andy Woodward
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)