Bill Ames, who spent 16 years acquiring and publicizing sports titles at Triumph Books before departing this past August, has launched Ames Sports Literary & Publicity Agency, a combined literary agency and book publicity and marketing company.

The Geneva, Illinois–based shingle is targeting the specific gap in the publishing landscape: sports writers, athletes, and broadcasters seeking representation from an agent who understands both the sports media ecosystem and the nuances of sports publishing.

"There's plenty of great literary agents I've worked with out there, but [few] that really spoke the language of sports,” Ames told PW. “So I saw the opportunity to address this need."

During his tenure at Triumph, Ames acquired hundreds of sports titles, including 58 hockey books, and managed more than 400 book tours. His acquisition strategy involved identifying writers and athletes, developing book concepts, and shepherding projects from deal to publication.

"Once the book was completed and published, I was still working with them to help generate good marketing and sales and publicity opportunities for every single title," Ames said of his work beyond the initial acquisition.

Ames views sports publishing as serving two audiences—one national that is interested in celebrity blockbusters, and a regional one of dedicated fan bases for individual teams and franchises, be they college or professional. While acknowledging that books about teams like the Ottawa Senators or the Kansas City Royals are unlikely to attract a nationwide audience, he emphasized that "every team has its own internal media ecosystem" that can support strong regional sales and backlist performance.

"There's enough meat on that bone that's going to sell enough copies and backlist down the road," he said.

Looking ahead, Ames said his company is as much as a sports branding agency, as it is a literary endeavor. "I'm very aware of the fact that there's a lot of people in the sports industry that are doing this not because a book is a passion project, but because it's part of their overall brand," he said, mentioning that he is building a robust network of freelancers for authors who want to work with a ghostwriter.

With his experience working on hockey titles, Ames is looking to expand his reach to the Great White North as well. "Sports is universal and I want to make sure that I'm getting my pitches to as many houses in the U.S. and Canada as possible," he said.