ALAN BUTCHER SHORTLISTED FOR BOOK AWARD

Pitch Publishing is a fantastic imprint.
They do all the great Got, Not Got series
and plenty of other retro sports titles.

James Brown, The Late Tackle, talkSPORT

Pitch Publishing show the way for enterprising
sports book publishers and remains a beacon
of hope for sports authors aspiring or established.

The Sports Bookshelf.com

Pitch Publishing, an outfit whose "pitch perfect"
commissioning of boxing material stands
as a rebuke to more established houses

Boxing Monthly

Pitch capture the real spirit of sport with entertaining
and clever ideas. They work out what the aficionado
would want to read, then deliver it with great verve.

Paul Hayward, The Daily Telegraph

Pitch have enabled me to write in the ways I enjoy most.
Their production support is superb, delivering eye-catching
designs, attentive proof-reading, energetic marketing and helpful advice.

Tim Quelch, Good Old Sussex by the Sea, Orient to the Emirates, Underdog!

Pitch are willing to back out-of-the-blue and innovative
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They do so with great presentation and editorial flair.

Justin Parkinson, Then Came Massacre

Pitch saw the potential in my story, used their expertise
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around the world to get into the sport of triathlon.

Andy Holgate, Can’t Swim, Can’t Ride, Can’t Run & Can't Sleep, Can't Train, Can't Stop

The process of working with Pitch to produce Picking up the Threads
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expectations and becoming a resounding success.

John Chandler, Picking up the Threads

Pitch will take a chance on books that other publishers won't
and realise that interest in football extends beyond the
Premier League and the top 20 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Steve Menary, Outcasts!

Pitch have the vision to look beyond the obvious,
seeking out interesting ideas and subjects and
matching them with the right target audience.

David Tossell, Tony Greig, The Great English Final, Grovel!, Natural

Pitch have been an absolute joy to work with,
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and experience to help produce a brilliant book.

Sam Pilger, Ashes Match of My Life

Pitch took our original concept and further enhanced it,
using their knowledge, experience and expertise, and helped
make Got, Not Got one of the football books of the year for 2011.

Derek Hammond, Got, Not Got series of books

Pitch bought into the concept of development through football,
channeling profits and proceeds from Eleven into helping
some of the most disadvantaged young people in the world.

Steve Fleming, Eleven

In the highly competitive world of sport publishing,
Pitch have consistently demonstrated the happy
knack of spotting, nurturing and promoting winners.

Neil Dunkin, Anfield of Dreams

06 Mar

ALAN BUTCHER SHORTLISTED FOR BOOK AWARD

Congratulations go out to Alan Butcher, whose The Good Murungu has today been shortlisted for the prestigious 2017 Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year Award.

Butch is one of two former England cricketers included on the shortlist, his wonderful tale of cricket in Zimbabwe taking its place alongside Graeme Fowler and his account of his depression and its effects. The six-strong list also includes books from cricket presenter Mark Nicholas and journalist Emma John about their fascination with cricket. Books about cricket in Pakistan and Australia’s Victor Trumper complete the list.

Chair of judges Vic Marks said: “There is some good writing here. All six books reflect passion for and knowledge about their subject matter. I look forward to lively discussion at the judges’ final meeting; there is no doubt we will come up with a worthy winner."

The competition, run by the Cricket Society since 1970 and in partnership with MCC since 2009, is for books nominated by MCC and Cricket Society Members, and is highly regarded by writers and publishers. Last year’s winner was Simon Lister’s Fire in Babylon: How the West Indies Cricket Team Brought a People to its Feet. Dan Waddell won in 2015 with Field of Shadows: The English Cricket Tour of Nazi Germany 1937.

The £3,000 for the winner, and certificates for all the shortlisted books, will be presented at an awards evening in the Long Room at Lord’s on Wednesday 19th April. A sell-out audience of 200 people will comprise Members of the Cricket Society and MCC, the shortlisted authors and publishers, as well as some of today’s finest cricket writers and journalists.

The six books on the shortlist (alphabetically by author):

Alan Butcher’s The Good Murunghu; Pitch Publishing
Graeme Fowler’s Absolutely Foxed; Simon & Schuster
Gideon Haigh’s Stroke of Genius; Simon & Schuster
Richard Heller and Peter Oborne’s White on Green: A Portrait of Pakistan Cricket; Simon & Schuster
Emma John’s A Memoir of Teenage Obsession and Terrible Cricket; Wisden
Mark Nicholas’ A Beautiful Game, My love affair with cricket; Allen & Unwin

An honorable mention also goes out to Pitch author Andrew Murtagh whose Test of Character made the longlist of 11 books.

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from The Good Murungu.