Cross Sports Book Awards 2017

Many of us are sports enthusiasts (both active and armchair!) and the recent successes of Team GB, Andy Murray and the Welsh national football team have only increased the interest in the lives and motivations of our national sportspeople, how sport has changed them and the sacrifices made in order for them to be amongst the best in their discipline.

The Cross Sports Book Awards celebrate the incredible depth in the quality of sports writing published every year in this country. With nine shortlist categories the avid sports book reader is spoilt for choice.

Let’s have a look at the shortlist for Autobiography of the Year:

Unguarded by Jonathan Trott - Unguarded takes readers to the heart of the dressing room, and to the heart of what it is to be a professional sportsman. It provides a unique perspective on a remarkably successful period in English cricket and its subsequent reversal and offers a fascinating insight into the rewards and risks faced as a sportsman carrying the hope and expectation of a team and a nation.

A Life in Football: My Autobiography by Ian Wright - From a South London council estate to the national team, from Saturday afternoons on the pitch to Saturday evenings on primetime television, Ian Wright reveals all about his extraordinary life and career.

Not a standard footballer's autobiography, Wright's memoir is a thoughtful and gripping insight into a Highbury Hero and one of the greatest sports stars of recent years.

This Mum Runs by Jo Pavey –  Jo Pavey was forty years old when she won the 10,000m at the European Championships. It was the first gold medal of her career and, astonishingly, it came within months of having her second child.

Heart-warming and uplifting, This Mum Runs follows Jo’s roundabout journey to the top and all the lessons she's learnt along the way. It is the inspiring yet everyday story of a mum that runs and a runner that mums.

Watching the Wheels: My Autobiography by Damon Hill – In 1996, Damon Hill was crowned Formula One World Champion. For the first time ever he tells the story of his journey through the last golden era of the sport when he took on the greats including Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher and emerged victorious as World Champion, stepping out of the shadow of his legendary father Graham Hill.

Unexpected: The Autobiography by Greg Rutherford – Greg Rutherford is one of the most successful British athletes of all time, winning gold at European, Commonwealth, World and Olympic levels, yet his route to the very top was never smooth. In this long-awaited memoir, he not only reveals the secrets of his remarkable success, but also has plenty to say on the issues that are dominating athletics.

No Nonsense: The Autobiography by Joey Barton –  No Nonsense reflects Barton’s character – it is candid, challenging, entertaining and intelligent. He does not spare himself, in revealing the formative influences of a tough upbringing in Liverpool, and gives a survivor’s insight into a game which, to use his phrase, 'eats people alive'.

Mae llawer ohonom yn selogion chwaraeon (boed yn ymarferol neu o'r gadair freichiau!) ac mae llwyddiannau diweddaraf Tîm Prydain Fawr, Andy Murray a thîm pêl-droed cenedlaethol Cymru wedi cynyddu'r diddordeb ym mywydau a chymhellion ein harwyr yn y maes chwaraeon, sut mae chwaraeon wedi eu newid a'r aberth a wnaed er mwyn iddynt fod ymysg y gorau yn eu disgyblaeth.

Mae Gwobrau Llyfrau Cross Sports yn dathlu'r dyfnder anhygoel yn ansawdd yr hyn a ysgrifennir am y maes chwaraeon a gyhoeddir bob blwyddyn yn y wlad hon. Gyda naw categori rhestr fer fe fydd gan y darllenwr ddewis hynod o helaeth.

Dewch i ni gael cipolwg ar y rhestr fer ar gyfer Hunangofiant y Flwyddyn:

Unguarded gan Jonathan Trott – Mae Unguarded yn tywys y darllenwyr i galon yr ystafell newid, ac i galon yr hyn y mae'n ei olygu i fod yn chwaraewr proffesiynol. Mae'n rhoi persbectif unigryw ar gyfnod hynod lwyddiannus criced yn Lloegr a'i wrthdroad dilynol, yn ogystal â chipolwg diddorol i'r manteision a'r risgiau y mae chwaraewyr yn eu hwynebu wrth ysgwyddo gobeithion a disgwyliadau tîm a chenedl.

A Life in Football: My Autobiography gan Ian Wright - O ystâd gyngor yn Ne Llundain i'r tîm cenedlaethol, o brynhawniau Sadwrn ar y cae i oriau brig ar deledu nos Sadwrn, mae Ian Wright yn datgelu popeth am ei fywyd a'i yrfa ryfeddol.

Nid hunangofiant arferol pêl-droediwr, mae cofiant Wright yn gipolwg meddylgar a gafaelgar i fywyd Arwr Highbury ac yn un o sêr chwaraeon mwyaf y blynyddoedd diwethaf.

This Mum Runs gan Jo Pavey – Roedd Jo Pavey yn ddeugain mlwydd oed pan enillodd y ras 10,000m ym Mhencampwriaethau Ewrop. Dyma fedal aur gyntaf ei gyrfa ac, yn rhyfeddol, daeth o fewn misoedd o gael ei hail blentyn.

Twymgalon ac ysbrydoledig, mae This Mum Runs yn dilyn taith Jo i'r brig a'r holl wersi a  ddysgodd ar hyd y ffordd. Mae'n stori ysbrydoledig, gyffredin am fam sy'n rhedeg a rhedwr sy'n fam.

Watching the Wheels: My Autobiography gan Damon Hill – Ym 1996, coronwyd Damon Hill yn Bencampwr Fformiwla Un y Byd. Am y tro cyntaf erioed mae'n adrodd hanes ei daith trwy oes aur olaf y gamp pan frwydrodd yn erbyn y mawrion, gan gynnwys Ayrton Senna a Michael Schumacher a daeth i'r amlwg fel Pencampwr y Byd, gan gamu allan o gysgod ei dad, yr enwog Graham Hill .

Unexpected: The Autobiography gan Greg Rutherford – Greg Rutherford yw un o'r athletwyr  mwyaf llwyddiannus ym Mhrydain erioed, gan ennill y wobr aur ar lefelau Ewrop, y Gymanwlad, y Byd a'r Gemau Olympaidd, ac eto nid oedd ei siwrnai i'r brig yn un lyfn. Yn yr hunangofiant hir-ddisgwyliedig, mae'n datgelu nid yn unig cyfrinachau ei lwyddiant rhyfeddol, ond mae hefyd ganddo ddigon i'w ddweud am y materion sy'n dylanwadu ar athletau.

No Nonsense: The Autobiography gan Joey Barton –  Mae No Nonsense yn adlewyrchu cymeriad Barton – mae’n agored, heriol, difyrrus a deallus. Nid yw’n dal yn ôl rhag datgelu’r dylanwadau ffurfiol a gafodd yn ystod magwraeth anodd yn Lerpwl, ac o safbwynt goroeswr, mae’n rhoi cipolwg o’r gêm, sydd yn ei eiriau ei hun yn ‘bwyta pobl yn fyw'.