In line with all major literary awards around the world, Australian Independent Booksellers of Australia have announced the Longlist for The Indie Book Awards 2016. Established in 2008, these awards see independent booksellers take their rightful place in the spotlight as key supporters of Australian authors. The incredible passion and knowledge of independent booksellers makes them uniquely placed to judge and recommend the best Australian books of the past year to their customers and the general reading public. This year, in response to bookseller feedback, a new category has been added splitting the Children’s award into Children’s and Young Adult categories, to reflect the strength of the market for these books.
Independent booksellers of Australia, affectionately termed ‘indies’, have a deserved reputation for choosing the best in Australian writing. These books often go on to be bestsellers and win other major literary awards. Previous winners include The Bush by Don Watson, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, All That I Am by Anna Funder, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey and Breath by Tim Winton.
Galina Marinov, National Group Manager of Leading Edge Books says, “The breadth and depth of the Longlist shows once again the special skill independent booksellers have in picking the best of the best in Australian writing. Splitting the former Children’s and Young Adult category into two separate categories for the 2016 awards recognises the importance of these genres and acknowledges their unique contribution to the quality and diversity of writing and publishing in Australia.”
Announced early in the calendar year, The Indie Book Awards are now considered the forerunners of all major Australian book awards.
The Longlist for The Indie Book Awards 2016 is:
FICTION LONGLIST
A Guide to Berlin by Gail Jones (Random House Australia)
Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham (Hachette Australia)
Hope Farm by Peggy Frew (Scribe Publications)
Quicksand by Steve Toltz (Penguin Australia)
The Lake House by Kate Morton (Allen & Unwin)
The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)
The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop (Hachette Australia)
The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (Hachette Australia)
The Wonder Lover by Malcolm Knox (Allen & Unwin)
Useful by Debra Oswald (Penguin Australia)
NON-FICTION LONGLIST
A Mother's Story by Rosie Batty &Bryce Corbett (HarperCollins Australia)
Adam Spencer's World of Numbers by Adam Spencer (NewSouth Books)
Bad Behaviour by Rebecca Starford (Allen & Unwin)
Flesh Wounds by Richard Glover (HarperCollins Australia)
Green Nomads by Bob Brown (Hardie Grant Books)
Island Home by Tim Winton (Penguin Australia)
Keating by Kerry O'Brien (Allen & Unwin)
One Life by Kate Grenville (Text Publishing)
Reckoning: A Memoir by Magda Szubanski (Text Publishing)
The Anti-Cool Girl by Rosie Waterland (HarperCollins Australia)
DEBUT FICTION LONGLIST
Anchor Point by Alice Robinson (Affirm Press)
Fever of Animals by Miles Allinson (Scribe Publications)
In The Quiet by Eliza Henry-Jones (HarperCollins Australia)
Lost Swimmer by Ann Turner (Simon & Schuster Australia)
Relativity by Antonia Hayes (Penguin Australia)
Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett (Pan Macmillan Australia)
Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia)
The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader (HarperCollins Australia)
The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth (Pan Macmillan Australia)
When There's Nowhere Else to Run by Murray Middleton (Allen & Unwin)
CHILDREN’S LONGLIST
Mr Huff by Anna Walker (Penguin Australia)
My Dog Bigsy by Alison Lester (Penguin Australia)
Olive of Groves by Katrina Nannestad & Lucia Masciullo, Illus (HarperCollins Australia)
Paper Planes by Steve Worland (Penguin Australia)
Pig the Fibber by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)
The 65-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, Illus (Pan Macmillan Australia)
The Bad Guys, Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)
The Cat with the Coloured Tail by Gillian Mears & Dinalie Dabarera (Walker Books)
The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)
Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)
YOUNG ADULT LONGLIST
Cloudwish by Fiona Wood (Macmillan Australia)
Green Valentine by Lili Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin)
Pieces of Sky by Trinity Doyle (Allen & Unwin)
Prince of Afghanistan by Louis Nowra (Allen & Unwin)
Ranger’s Apprentice: The Early Years 1: The Tournament at Gorlan by John Flanagan (Random House Australia)
Red Queen: Obernewtyn, Book 7 by Isobel Carmody (Penguin Australia)
Risk by Fleur Ferris (Random House Australia)
Sister Heart by Sally Morgan (Fremantle Press)
Soon by Morris Gleitzman (Penguin Australia)
The Flywheel by Erin Gough (Hardie Grant)
The Shortlist will be announced on 19 January 2016, with the category winners and the overall ‘Book of the Year’ winner being announced in Sydney, at an awards ceremony, on Wednesday, 23 March 2016.