Indie Book Awards for 2019

Australian Independent Booksellers are thrilled to announce their Longlist for the Indie Book Awards 2019!

From the Indie Book Awards media release:

“Established in 2008, what makes the Indie Book Awards unique is that it’s the Australian independent booksellers themselves who nominate their best titles for the year; select the Longlist; judge the Shortlist and vote for the Category and Book of the Year winners – the entire process is based on the selection and involvement of independent booksellers, members of the Leading Edge Books group, making it one of the most democratic awards in the Australian literary calendar.

“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 beyond the big brands, and their love of quality writing.

“The Awards cover the best Australian books in six categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Debut Fiction, Illustrated Non-Fiction, Children’s books (up to 12yo) and Young Adult (12+).”

FICTION LONGLIST
The Lost Man by Jane Harper (Macmillan Australia)
The Fragments by Toni Jordan (Text Publishing)
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (Macmillan Australia)
The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton (Allen & Unwin)
The Children’s House by Alice Nelson (Penguin Random House Australia)
Shell by Kristina Olsson (Scribner Australia)
The Other Wife by Michael Robotham (Hachette Australia)
Cedar Valley by Holly Throsby (Allen & Unwin)
The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton (Penguin Random House Australia)
Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak (Picador Australia)

NON-FICTION LONGLIST
The Ship That Never Was by Adam Courtenay (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)
Boys Will be Boys by Clementine Ford (Allen & Unwin)
The Land Before Avocado by Richard Glover (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)
Butterfly on a Pin by Alannah Hill (Hardie Grant Books)
The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper (Penguin Random House Australia)
Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee (Allen & Unwin)
The Barefoot Investor for Families by Scott Pape (Barefoot Publishing)
Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales (Penguin Random House Australia)
Teacher by Gabbie Stroud (Allen & Unwin)
Axiomatic by Maria Tumarkin (Brow Books)

DEBUT FICTION
Flames by Robbie Arnott (Text Publishing)
The Helpline by Katherine Collette (Text Publishing)
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton (HarperCollins Australia)
Scrublands by Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin)
The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins Australia)
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (Echo Publishing)
The Earth Does Not Get Fat by Julia Prendergast (UWA Publishing)
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland (HarperCollins Australia)
The Lucky Galah by Tracy Sorensen (Picador Australia)
The Nowhere Child by Christian White (Affirm Press)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION
Special Guest by Annabel Crabb, Wendy Sharpe (Murdoch Books)
A Painted Landscape: Across Australia from Bush to Coast by Amber Creswell Bell (Thames & Hudson Australia)
The Great Australian Bucket List by Robin Esrock (Affirm Press)
Mirka & Georges by Lesley Harding, Kendrah Morgan (Melbourne University Publishing)
Marcia Langton: Welcome to Country by Marcia Langton (Hardie Grant Travel)
Bohemian Living: Creative Homes Around the World by Robyn Lea (Thames & Hudson Australia)
Smith & Deli-cious by Shannon Martinez & Mo Wyse (Hardie Grant Books)
Family: New vegetable classics to comfort and nourish by Hetty McKinnon (Plum)
Gardens on the Edge by Christine Reid (Murdoch Books)
Australian Dreamscapes by Claire Takacs (Hardie Grant Books)

CHILDREN’S
All the Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell & Allison Colpoys (Illus) (Scribe Publications)
The Tales of Mr Walker by Jess Black & Sara Acton (Illus) (Penguin Random House Australia)
A-Z of Australian Animals by Jennifer Cossins (Hachette Australia)
Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee (Allen & Unwin)
Claris: The Chicest Mouse in Paris by Megan Hess (Hardie Grant Egmont)
Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Worlds by Jeremy Lachlan (Hardie Grant Egmont)
Cicada by Shaun Tan (Hachette Australia)
Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)
Room on Our Rock by Kate & Jo Temple, Terri Rose Baynton (Illus) (Scholastic Australia)
Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Hachette Australia)

YOUNG ADULT
Hive by A. J. Betts (Pan Australia)
Just Breathe by Andrew Daddo (Penguin Random House Australia)
Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein (Walker Books Australia)
Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough (Hardie Grant Egmont)
P is for Pearl by Eliza Henry Jones (HarperCollins Australia)
A Song Only I Can Hear by Barry Jonsberg (Allen & Unwin)
Obsidio: The Illuminae Files_03 by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina (Allen & Unwin)
Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza (Penguin Random House Australia)

The Shortlist will be announced on 16 January 2019, with the Category Winners and the Overall Book of the Year Winner being announced at the Leading Edge Books Annual Conference Awards Dinner on 18 March 2019 in Adelaide, SA. 

The Indie Book Awards are considered the forerunners of all major Australian book awards.

Congratulations and good luck to all these worthy authors.