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Sports News February 2005
- A new Sport bestseller list
- Exciting new sports books
- How to search our extensive backlist
- Get your own sports book published
WE
ARE TOTTENHAM by Martin Cloake and Adam Powley leads the Mainstream
Sport bestseller list, and indeed the general
bestseller list. It is a remarkable achievement for a
club specific book to top the bestseller list but is a reflection of
the authors wide network of on-line contacts whose enthusiasm has pushed
their book to the No.1 spot.
It
is perhaps part of the reason why THE REAL MACKAY continues
to feature at No. 4 on the bestseller list. Dave Mackay is undoubtedly
one of the most loved characters in football but it is clear from the
pattern of orders that many on-line customers are Spurs fans who have
visited the Mainstream site to buy WE ARE TOTTENHAM then spotted the
autobiography of Spurs hero Mackay.
Looking further down the list it is interesting that THE GREATEST FOOTBALLER YOU NEVER SAW, written by Paolo Hewitt and Paul McGuigan, appears several years after it's first publication. No doubt the tremendous publicity surrounding Hewitt's latest book, THE FASHION OF FOOTBALL, has succeeded in driving sales of his first foray into football.
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The list is somewhat football heavy so it is a relief to see racing book, ROCK OF GIBRALTAR and boxing book, GIVE ME A RING on the list. Come on all you sports fans. Buy some rugby and golf books and get them in the Top Ten too! To view the full list click here.
At
the end of last year DRAGONS AND ALL BLACKS by Huw Richards
was published to great critical acclaim:
'It's almost academic in style, but no less readable for that and as a fellow writer, I was left in awe of the huge amount of research Richards has put into this book. He has tracked and spoken to every single living participant in the game - a surprisingly high figure - and the way he traces its effects on their lives is what gives this book its endearing human side. And unlike too many of the books that cross this desk, he can write and write well.' RUGBY TIMES
'It's good on the rugby, but even better in the subtle way it explores the importance of the game in each country, its symbolic force and resonance in creating a sense of nationhood, and the natural kinship between these two small countries for whom rugby was the national passion. In a fascinating historical survey, Richards documents the matches between the two, drawing out how trends in styles of play, were intertwined with wider social and economic changes.' THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
'This magnificent work is not simply about the All Blacks' last defeat against Wales more than half a century ago. Nor is it solely about these two rugby-mad nations. It is broader than that... a meticulously researched work.' THE INDEPENDENT
It
will be followed in May by THE BARBARIANS, The United
Nations of Rugby by Alan Evans, which will be published immediately prior
to the Barbarians tour of New Zealand. It is the official history of
the legendary club and includes personal reflections and anecdotes from
celebrated players from around the world.
One
of the lead titles for the Spring is RING OF HATE, The
Brown Bomber and Hitler's Hero - Joe Louis v Max Schmeling and the Bitter
Propaganda War by Patrick Myler which will be published on March 28th.
Max Schmeling sadly died on February 4th, seven months short of his 100th
birthday, which is posing some problems for his US publishers, who had
planned to capitalise on the publicity surrounding the centenary celebrations.
For those of you who can't get enough of football there are still some new football books. BLUE DEVIL WITH A BRIEFCASE is a biography of Alan Morton, the Rangers and Scotland legend; BERTIE MEE is a biography of the famous Arsenal player with a foreword by Graham Taylor and on a more general football theme, ALIVE AND KICKING by David Bryce with Simon Pia is the inspirational story of how Bryce turned his back on a life of crime and drug addiction and set up a football team to help others who were struggling against substance abuse. Calton Athletic have received support from high profile figures such as Irvine Welsh, Gordon Brown, Robbie Williams and Ewan McGregor who met the team to research his lead role in Trainspotting. It will be published in May.
HOW TO SEARCH OUR EXTENSIVE BACKLIST
Mainstream has long had a reputation for publishing sports books. We may not always have the high profile names but we have published books on almost every major football club in the UK and I am sure that you will find something to interest you. To search our extensive backlist go to www.mainstreampublishing.com, click on Browse and Buy on the home page and from there click on the Browse Category button then select your favoured sport from the drop down menu. Most sports are featured, if not you may find them in the Sport (general) category. The books within each category are listed in alphabetical order and where available include reviews to help you make a decision. Some of the older titles may not have reviews simply because the files were not available when we set up the web site, not because they didn't get any press coverage!
GET YOUR OWN SPORTS BOOK PUBLISHED
If you can't find a book on the subject you are interested in perhaps you should write it yourself! Full details about the Publishing Process can be seen on the home page of our web site. We require ideas to be submitted to our publisher, bill.campbell@mainstreampublishing.com together with a synopsis of the book and ideally reasons you think it would work from a marketing point of view. The more ammunition you provide, the more likely your proposal will be taken seriously. Good luck! Our next sports newsletter will be sent out in June 2005. Hopefully your purchases will have some effect on the new bestseller list too.
Best wishes
Fiona Brownlee
Marketing Director
www.mainstreampublishing.com