Australian independent booksellers, members of Leading Edge Books, are thrilled to announce their Shortlist for the Indie Book Awards 2019, for the best Australian books published in 2018!
Established in 2008, the Indie Book Awards recognise and celebrate this country’s incredible talent and the role independent booksellers play in supporting and nurturing Australian writing.
Who will win in each category in 2019?
Who will take out the overall ‘2019 Book of the Year’ Award?!
Without further ado, here is the Shortlist for the 2019 Indie Book Awards:
FICTION SHORTLIST
The Lost Man by Jane Harper (Macmillan Australia)
Shell by Kristina Olsson (Scribner Australia)
The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton (Penguin Random House Australia)
Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak (Picador Australia)
NON-FICTION SHORTLIST
The Land Before Avocado by Richard Glover (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)
The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper (Penguin Random House Australia)
Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee (Allen & Unwin)
Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales (Penguin Random House Australia)
DEBUT FICTION SHORTLIST
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton (HarperCollins Australia)
Scrublands by Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin)
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (Echo Publishing)
The Nowhere Child by Christian White (Affirm Press)
ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION SHORTLIST
A Painted Landscape: Across Australia from Bush to Coast by Amber Creswell Bell (Thames & Hudson Australia)
Marcia Langton: Welcome to Country by Marcia Langton (Hardie Grant Travel)
Family: New vegetable classics to comfort and nourish by Hetty McKinnon (Plum)
Australian Dreamscapes by Claire Takacs (Hardie Grant Books)
CHILDREN’S SHORTLIST
All the Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell & Allison Colpoys (Illus) (Scribe Publications)
Lenny's Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee (Allen & Unwin)
Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)
Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Hachette Australia)
YOUNG ADULT SHORTLIST
Hive by A. J. Betts (Pan Australia)
Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough (Hardie Grant Egmont)
A Song Only I Can Hear by Barry Jonsberg (Allen & Unwin)
Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina (Allen & Unwin)
This is how it works. The twenty-four shortlisted books, the best titles of the year as nominated by Australian independent booksellers themselves, will be vying for the top spot as the Overall Indie ‘Book of the Year’ for 2019. Panels of expert judges (all indie booksellers and avid readers) will choose the winners in the six book categories – Fiction, Debut Fiction, Non-Fiction, Illustrated Non-Fiction, Children’s books (up to 12yo) and Young Adult (12+). Independent booksellers from around the country will then vote to select their favourite book of the year from the six category winners.
The Category Winners and the Overall ‘Book of the Year’ Winner will be announced on Monday 18 March, 2019 at the Leading Edge Books Annual Conference Awards Dinner to be held in Adelaide, SA.
Since the Awards inception in 2008, the Indies have a well-deserved reputation for picking the best of the best in Australian writing. Past Book of the Year winners have gone on to be bestsellers and win other major literary awards. Previous winners include: Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend, The Dry by Jane Harper; The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood; 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.
The Awards recognise and celebrate the indie booksellers as the number one supporters of Australian authors. What makes our Indies uniquely placed to judge and recommend the best Aussie books of the past year to their customers and readers, is their incredible passion and knowledge, their contribution to the cultural diversity of the Australian reading public by recommending books beyond the big brands, and their love of quality writing.
The Indie Book Awards would like to gratefully acknowledge the 2019 Awards Sponsors: Peribo, Pan Macmillan Australia, Affirm Press, Allen & Unwin, Thames & Hudson Australia, Hardie Grant Egmont, Text Publishing and Awards partner: Books+Publishing. Proudly coordinated by Leading Edge Books.