Open Field for Sports Books

With soccer on its increasingly brief summer recess?the European Women's Championship raised a brief flicker of interest, but no more?the field is open for other sports to stake their claim in the book market. It is the season, after all, for big sales of paperback editions of biographies. Soccer fans still need their fix, though, and it is a former national team star, Paul Gascoigne, who occupies the top spot on the sports-books chart. Gazza: My Story (Headline), co-written with Hunter Davies, was the fourth bestselling hardback memoir of 2004, and has kicked off 2005 in fine fettle.

Different sports occupy each of the top five places on the chart. Athletics is represented by double Olympic gold medal?winner Kelly Holmes with her new autobiography, while Clive Woodward?currently coaching the British Lions rugby team on tour in New Zealand?is at No. 3. If, as expected, the Lions return battered, bruised and beaten, sales of rugby books may well plummet. Potential defeat also threatens interest in cricket?the world's best team, Australia, is England's opposition this summer, but former captain Nasser Hussain's book is off to a good start. Much-loved golf commentator Peter Alliss rounds out the list?interestingly, the paperback edition of his latest memoir was published to coincide with the U.S. Open rather than its British counterpart.

The sporting focus turns next week to Wimbledon, which is well-served by books this year. Nostalgic looks at the McEnroe/Borg and Evert/Navratilova rivalries should do well, along with a memoir by tournament referee Alan Mills and paperbacks from former champions Boris Becker and Ilie Nastase. July will then be all about the bikes, and Lance Armstrong. Books by or about the American cycling legend are already at numbers 6, 7, 9 and 12 on the sports-books chart, and will only rise as he rides in his last Tour de France.

Book sales continue to set the retail pace as well. Despite a fall from last week, revenue for the seven days ending June 11 was up 4.2% over last year.

Top 5 Sports Books

1 GAZZA: MY STORY, Paul Gascoigne (Headline 0747268185)
2 BLACK, WHITE & GOLD, Kelly Holmes (Virgin, 1852272244)
3 WINNING!, Clive Woodward (Hodder, 034083630X)
4 PLAYING WITH FIRE, Nasser Hussain (Penguin, 0141003669)
5 MY LIFE, Peter Alliss (Hodder, 0340834005)

* Based on sales in Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market in the week to 11th June.