About Ames Sports Literary & Publicity Agency
Founder Bill Ames spent two decades in the sports publishing industry before opening Ames Sports Literary & Publicity Agency. Today, he helps sports authors across North America find the right home for their book and secure strong publicity across the sports media landscape. From commission-based literary agent and consulting services to fee-based publicity and marketing services, Ames Sports offers everything authors and publishers need to bring sports’ greatest stories to life for readers.
Introduction
Bill Ames began his sports publishing career in 2006 at Triumph Books in Chicago, where he managed book publicity tours for renowned sports athletes and writers. The network Ames built during his work as a book publicist naturally segued into title acquisitions, signing up new sports books and shaping the direction and scope of Triumph’s catalogs.
Sports Publishing Acquisitions Portfolio
Over his two decades in the sports publishing industry, Ames acquired a diverse selection of books featuring high-profile athletes, coaches, broadcasters, and prolific sports writers. His portfolio includes more than 60 hockey titles—establishing Triumph as the leading publisher of hockey books in North America while also regularly acquiring baseball, football, golf, and basketball titles. Beyond the sports genre, Ames also acquired books in parenting, business, fitness, children’s, and comedy.
Publishing Expertise
Ames’ publishing experience includes negotiating with literary agents, business managers, and authors across the U.S. and Canada; drafting and editing contracts; and overseeing the entire book acquisition process from concept to signing. Ames worked alongside leading literary agencies across North America and Canada’s largest publishers, overseeing numerous co-publishing rights agreements to bring Canadian hockey titles to the U.S. and sell U.S. hockey titles to Canadian publishers.
Author Advocacy & Program Development
Ames created and managed an onboarding program and interfaced with all authors leading up to publication dates, serving as a coach and advocate who provided guidance and prepared authors for their book tours. Ames guided authors help to them maximize personal sales channels by connecting directly with their network to generate special sales opportunities. This initiative empowered authors to best monetize their book releases, prepared them for their book publicity tours and events, and helped sell thousands of copies annually outside traditional retail outlets by leveraging author networks and platforms.
Ames Sports Literary & Publicity Agency
Today, as the founder of Ames Sports Literary & Publicity Agency and a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA), Ames brings his passion and experience to helping athletes, broadcasters, and sports writers tell their stories, secure publishing deals, and achieve impactful publicity in the sports media world. Ames Sports is dedicated to being a resource, advocate, and partner for authors and publishers as they develop new books and navigate the evolving sports publishing landscape.
