As the year draws to a close and we all begin to wind down for the holidays, we’re celebrating a wonderful year of books, storytelling, and Australian voices with our Top 10 Reads of 2025 – the ten titles Fair Play Publishing proudly released this year.
From memoirs to sports history, fiction, cultural commentary and a few surprises along the way, each book reminds us why stories matter and how much joy they bring.
We are proud to have published writers with their first books, as well as extensively published authors who have multiple books to their name, ranging from 26-year-old Amy Coomer, with a YA novel, through to 97-year-old Natalie Scott, with a moving memoir.
If you’re looking for thoughtful gifts, summer reading, or something new for the beach bag, you’ll find plenty to love right here.
Here are books 1-6 in our top 10.
The Natural — Brendan Morris & Stephan Wellink
A rich, character-driven portrait of triple Australian representative (Water Polo, Rugby League, Rugby Union), Richard 'Dick' Thornett, capturing a sporting life with insight, heart and historical depth.
Golf Dreaming — John Maynard
A fascinating exploration of golf’s forgotten Aboriginal connections, tracing cultural, social and political intersections seldom acknowledged in the history of the game.
The Coping Stone — Paul Nicholls
A gripping part-fiction, mostly fact, history book: crime, a breakaway professional league, a dramatic robbery — as the first English soccer tour of Australia unfolds in shadow, scandal, and cynicism in 1925.
Radicalised by FIFA — Jean Williams
A sharp, fascinating memoir and cultural history of football, politics and power — from a writer who grew up on a Leicester farm and never stopped questioning authority.
Socceroos in Scotland — Paul Murphy
An entertaining oral history of Australia’s footballers who made their mark in Scotland. For fans who love the mighty Socceroos story, this book adds a whole new chapter of ambition and football identity.
The Big Con — Trevor Thompson
The astonishing true story of Thomas Shortel, an Australian on the run, who reinvented himself as “Con Jones,” becoming one of Canada’s greatest sporting entrepreneurs.