Drawing on more than three decades of sports reporting on both sides of the planet, Shaw Things ($29.95, Forty South Publishing) sums up its target audience with the subhead: "Insights into Tasmanian, Australian and world sport (in declining order order of importance)".

Mr Shaw, who moved to Tasmania from his native England in 2002, joined The Examiner the following year and began writing The Shaw Thing column during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

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"Dean Southwell was the editor at the time and asked if I could write a column about the funnier side of the Games," said the Launceston-based father-of-two.

"Martin Gilmour was the chief of staff and said it had to be called The Shaw Thing. I took that as an order and the column was born.

"Since then I've written more than 750 and going through them all to pick my favourites has brought back a lot of fond memories."

The columns feature a wide array of sports, subjects and locations, from introducing his children to the contrasting delights of a packed MCG and sodden gravel oval in Queenstown to sharing his experiences from Olympic Games in London and Rio de Janeiro plus Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Glasgow and the Gold Coast.

They also offer an insider's view of Tasmanian events such as The Three Peaks sailing race, the Australian Masters Games and The Icebreaker Challenge.

"I've been fortunate to get to some amazing places, experience thrilling sporting contests and interview some world-class athletes," Mr Shaw said.

"But quite often the best stories emerged from closest to home. Tasmania is a superb place to be a sports reporter.

"I've also been lucky that the state somehow seems to mass produce exceptional athletes.

"If they weren't so good, I wouldn't have had so much to write about."