Scratching Shed Publishing

Scratching Shed Publishing Limited is an independent British publishing house founded in May 2008 by co-directors Phil Caplan and Tony Hannan, two freelance authors and journalists based in the North of England. Uniquely among publishers, the company, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, aims to produce high-quality books that are primarily inspired by aspects of northern English culture.
Scratching Shed Publishing Limited is responsible for the critically acclaimed Rugby League Classics series, in which previously out of print rugby league books are rescued and reissued with a new introduction for modern-day readers. Titles in the series include 'Rugby Renegade' by Gus Risman, 'King of Rugger' by Lewis Jones, 'Glory In The Centre Spot' by Eric Ashton, 'XIII Winters, XIII Worlds' by Dave Hadfield and The Great Ones by BBC television commentator Eddie Waring.
Rugby league is a staple of the Scratching Shed catalogue and among the company's other publications related to the sport are the ground-breaking 'Tries and Prejudice', the autobiography of Ikram Butt, England's first ever Muslim rugby international. Other titles include 'Down & Under: A Rugby League Walkabout in Australia' by Dave Hadfield, '1895 and All That...' by Professor Tony Collins, Ray French... And Rugby by the BBC commentator of that name, Reluctant Hero - the John Holmes Story, and Mr Rugby Leigh, the Tommy Sale story.
The company has also published 'In The Prison of his Days', the memoirs of captured Second World War gunner Norman G Davison, 'On Behalf of the Committee', a groundbreaking history of Northern English comedy, The Woman Without A Number by Iby Knill (as featured on the BBC television series My Story) and Out of the Blue, the memoirs of former West Yorkshire policeman David Watson. Scratching Shed books on other sports include biographies of Doncaster Rovers football chairman John Ryan and heavyweight boxer Ron Lyle, and a comprehensive history of Yorkshire football.
Scratching Shed Publishing Ltd are the current sponsors of the Northern Premier Cricket League annual Dream Teams.

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