After the Lionesses won the Women’s Euros on 31st July, publishers and agents are expecting to see a surge of interest for books about women’s sports, with an especially high demand for biographies of the players.
The Lionesses’ 2-1 win against Germany at Wembley was their first major trophy, and 17.4 million people tuned in to watch.
Editorial director at Hodder & Stoughton, Huw Armstrong, said that: “I think naturally there’s going to be interest in this area. There are some brilliant books already out there which look at the women’s game…I can imagine those getting a lift.”
Armstrong continued: “[The Players] They’re immortalised. They’ll be remembered like the 1966 men’s team. So, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some memoirs from the players come out off the back of this. They’ve got an incredible story to tell.”
There are some books that are expected to see a boost, such as former professional footballer Alex Scott’s How (Not) To Be Strong, which is due for release in September, and How to be a Footballer and Other Sports Jobs by former Lioness Rachel Yankey.
Kuper, Soccernomics author, said he expects “the biggest ever boom in women’s football books in the UK.”
With this news, it is expected that over the coming years we will see more biographies and non-fiction books surrounding women’s football, and women’s sport in general. This surge could also mean a rise in more fiction writers choosing to feature sports in the lives of their female protagonists, showcasing women as sport heroes too.
Hopefully this highly anticipated rise in books surrounding women’s sports will spark curiosity of the sport amongst young girls, and will provide a much-needed base of knowledge for those wanting to learn more about women’s football.
Words by Cara-Louise Scott
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