IT IS A HAT-TRICK AT THE SPORTS BOOK AWARDS

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
ideas and turn them into viable, entertaining books.
They do so with great presentation and editorial flair.

Justin Parkinson, Then Came Massacre

Pitch saw the potential in my story, used their expertise
to polish it, published it and helped inspire thousands
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
was enjoyable and rewarding, with the final edition surpassing
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,
contributing their passion, expertise, knowledge
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

18 Jul

IT IS A HAT-TRICK OF AT THE SPORTS BOOK AWARDS

IT IS A HAT-TRICK AT THE SPORTS BOOK AWARDS

Author and award-winning photographer Richard 'Dickie' Pelham made it three in a row for Pitch Publishing at the Telegraph Sports Book Awards this week, as his book A Life Behind the Lens won the Best Illustrated Book of the Year.

The book beat fierce competition, including two other Pitch titles, to win, which was announced in a virtual prize ceremony on Wednesday evening, with the usual gala event, originally scheduled for Lord's, curtailed due to the pandemic.

Dickie said, "It was a great honour and a wonderful achievement. I want to thank everyone at Pitch and especially Nick Szczepanik who co-wrote the book with me; Ian Wright, who wrote the foreword; and Jackie Moores and Graham Smith at Canon for their support.

"Thanks also go to MJ and Barnsey in the News Corp library for their help with the research on the old negatives. Finally I would like to thank my wife Sue who has been by my side for the last 30 years, while the book was being made."

Dickie is the multi award-winning chief sports photographer for The Sun, with more than 30 years experience and A Life Behind the Lens is a collection of the very best of his life's work.

He has covered six Olympic Games, six World Cups, any number of Test matches and many championship boxing bouts, capturing the moments of triumph and despair, the great goals, the knockout punches, the key wickets and the gold-medal glory.

He has been trackside, ringside, pitchside and poolside as well as in the studio and on the training grounds with the biggest names in world sport, including Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Andy Murray, Paul Gascoigne, David Beckham, Tom Daley, Lennox Lewis and Anthony Joshua.

His pictures have featured on memorable front and back pages and centre spreads. The images are accompanied by Dickie's own recounting of the human stories behind the pictures and the technical secrets of a master of his trade.

Great to see @DickiePelham with his @TelegraphSport Sports Book Award trophy, as he thanks all those who contributed to the victory, as former shortlistee @IanWright also gets a mention for his foreword!#SBA20 #READINGFORSPORT pic.twitter.com/aRqkM8ROka
— The Telegraph Sports Book Awards (@sportsbookaward) July 15, 2020

Dickie collaborated with Nick Szczepanik, who co-wrote and edited the book. Nick is a sports journalist with more than 30 years' writing about football, and his byline has appeared above football reports in every national daily paper. He has also written on American football for The Independent and Sunday Times, and baseball, tennis and many other sports for The Times.

Pitch Publishing designer Duncan Olner (Olner PSM) was the man behind the book's beautiful design and layout. Duncan designed all three Best Illustrated Book of the Year Award winners (2018, 2019 and 2020), as well as the two other books shortlisted in this year's category: Lap of Honour by Tim Hain and An A to Z of Football Collectibles by Carl Wilkes.

The History Makers, by Sarah Juggins and Richard Stainthorpe, won in 2018. It tells the story of the stunning gold medal victory by GB's women's hockey team at the 2016 Olympics. Described as "the moment of the Games" the book charts the turbulent journey of a team that rewrote its own destiny.

Winning in 2019 was The Beautiful Badge, by Martyn Routledge and Elspeth Wills, which explores the history of football club badges. From the original Red Devil to the £10 canary, it looks at what inspired them, who crafted them and how fans reacted. Extensive illustrations show how badges followed fashion and expressed the aspirations of owners, managers and fans.