Australians love a good sport story, because we love our sport. While many of us think of sporting narratives playing out on fields and courts, there are some wonderful sporting stories captured in our country바카라s rich literature. And just as women have always been playing sport, they have also been writing about it. (More Sports News)
Here are some books by women and non-binary writers for your summer reading list. They look at sport in a range of ways. Whether you enjoy histories, non-fiction, poetry, crime or even romance, there is a sporting story to suit all readers. These books seek to connect with diverse sports fans, or anyone looking for something a little different.
The first women바카라s Ashes
Marion Stell바카라s The Bodyline Fix: How Women Saved Cricket delves into a fascinating yet often overlooked chapter of cricket history. The book explores how Australian women cricketers in the 1930s played a crucial role in restoring the integrity of the sport, following the infamous men바카라s Bodyline series of 1932-33, which strained relations between Australia and England.
Stell is one of Australia바카라s foremost sports historians. She has gathered the stories of women바카라s sport in Australia, tracking down documents from scrapbooks kept by athletes and their families, mining storage units and garages for historical gems, and peering through miles of microfilm.
She is the author of the germinal book Half the Race: A History of Australian Women in Sport (1991), and her co-authored work with women바카라s football pioneer Heather Reid, Women in Boots: Football and Feminism in the 1970s (2020), is also excellent reading.
In The Bodyline Fix, Stell tells the story of the inaugural women바카라s test series, played against England in the summer of 1934-35. The series put women바카라s cricket in the spotlight. It brought together players from diverse backgrounds and social classes, and different levels of cricketing experience, to represent Australia. The women who played defied societal norms, family pressure and public scrutiny to pursue their passion. Their trailblazing spirit has contributed the strong Australian women바카라s cricket culture we have today.
The series is now known as the first women바카라s Ashes. The event바카라s 90th anniversary will be celebrated with a historic test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting on January 30, 2025. Now is the perfect time to learn more about those pioneering women and their legacy.
Footy in literature
When we think of books about Australian rules football, we tend to think of the many memoirs, biographies and other non-fiction works documenting the game바카라s history, cultural influence and place in collective memory.
Despite the game being the country바카라s dominant football code, it has not strayed too far into the world of fiction. Fictional footy narratives are rare.
Those written by women even rarer. In 2014, Ed Wright observed in the Australian that 바카라for something so culturally unique, Aussie rules football is under-represented in our literature, especially given the obsession with the game of our UNESCO City of Literature, Melbourne바카라.
Yet around this time three intriguing novels written by women about Australian rules football were published: The Family Men by Catherine Harris (2014), Game Day by Miriam Sved (2014) and The Whole of My World by Nicole Hayes (2013).
These books depicted the ways women work to connect with the game and the joy that fandom can bring. They also examined the dark side of the sport, such as the effects of toxic masculinity.
More recently, Sarah Thornton published Lapse, a crime thriller set in rural Australia, where the protagonist, former lawyer Clementine Jones heads to the country and ends up coaching at the local footy club.
Lapse is an interesting look at Australian rural life, racial tensions in small communities and the dynamics of country footy through the tropes of the thriller genre.
The novel has lots of suspense to keep you turning the pages. The plot is a refreshing take on the 바카라stranger arriving in a small town with a secret바카라, featuring a woman protagonist who comes into a hypermasculine environment.
Another footy book to add to your reading list is the newly published The Season by Australian literary legend Helen Garner.
The Season depicts Garner바카라s experience following her grandson바카라s under-16s football team for a season. It is full of reflections on developing masculinity and the role of sport in crafting identity. Garner also writes about connection to her AFL team the Western Bulldogs and what being a supporter means to her.
The book is a valuable contribution to the footy book genre. Seeing the sports we love through the eyes of those not as close to the game helps us see it in a new light.
Matildas바카라 momentum
Who didn바카라t get caught up the excitement of the 2023 FIFA Women바카라s World Cup? One of the successes of the event was how many new fans were welcomed into the women바카라s football family.
Now we have some fantastic publications to speak to those new fans, celebrate the trailblazers, and reflect on the future of women바카라s football.
Football historian and academic Fiona Crawford has been busy over the last couple of years documenting the increased focus on Australia바카라s national women바카라s team the Matildas.
She published The Matilda Effect (2023) in the lead up to the 2023 FIFA Women바카라s World Cup. She also co-authored Never Say Die: The Hundred-Year Overnight Success of Australian Women바카라s Football (2019) with Lee McGowan, which is another great read.
Her recently released The Rise of the Matildas reflects on the Matilda바카라s World Cup experience. Crawford writes with expertise, consideration for the game바카라s pioneers, and respect for fans. Her engaging style instantly connects you to the historic moment that we hope will change Australian women바카라s football forever.
First Nations people and sport
Personal Score: Sport, Culture, Identity by Ellen van Neerven is a compelling blend of memoir, poetry and cultural commentary.
Through essays, reflections and poems, van Neerven explores the intersections of sport, culture and identity, with a focus on their lived experience as a queer, non-binary First Nations person.
Personal Score is incredibly powerful, alternating between intimate reflection and sharp political critique. It explores what it means to play sport on stolen land, to love football 바카라 and questions the game바카라s colonial history.
The book tells stories of trauma and resilience. Van Neerven바카라s considered writing not only provides hope that Australian sport can change to become more inclusive, it details practical steps we can all take.
Tennis anyone?
Romance fiction book sales are on the rise. You might be surprised to learn that sports romance has become a major player in this growing market 바카라 so much so that from February 28 to March 2, 2025, the world바카라s first Sports Romance Convention will be held in Minneapolis, USA.
As we gear up for the Australian Open, a timely title is Abra Pressler바카라s Love and Other Scores. Pressler tells the story of an international tennis star with a secret coming to compete in Melbourne바카라s grand slam tournament. When he falls in love with a local, he finds he can바카라t hide his secret much longer.
Pressler바카라s novel explores how diverse sexualities are still stigmatised in men바카라s sport, at the same time as it depicts an environment where there are more intersectional identities. And of course, as is necessary in the romance genre, it gives us a 바카라happily ever after바카라 ending that allows us to imagine a sporting world where these issues are not only resolved, but celebrated.
Love and Other Scores is a sexy, queer romance with a diverse cast of characters. It is an excellent example of intersectional representation in sport and it is also a fun summer read.
