The Oscars of Publishing: ABIA 2019 Shortlist Announced

The Australian Publishers Association has announced the 2019 shortlist for the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs).

The 2019 shortlist includes some of the biggest names in the Australian book industry (which publishes over 7,000 new books annually) as well as some amazing new talent.

The ABIA Voting Academy is made up of over 250 representatives from across the bookselling and publishing industry along with additional specialist experts. Following the announcement of the shortlist a series of expert panels decide on the winner in each category.

From this shortlist, the Category Winners and the Overall ‘Book of the Year’ Winner will be announced at the premier event on the Australian book industry calendar – The ABIA Awards night – to be held on Thursday 2 May, during the Sydney Writers Festival. Presenting on the night will be some of the country’s best authors, celebrities and political figures, including Tom Keneally, Richard Flanagan, and Leigh Sales.

Better Reading is proud to present this year’s General Fiction Book of the Year shortlist:

General Fiction Book of the Year

• Scrublands, Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin)
• The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Holly Ringland (HarperCollins Publishers)
• The Nowhere Child, Christian White (Affirm Press)
• The Rúin, Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins Publishers)
• The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris (Echo Publishing)

Other Categories include:

Literary Fiction Book of the Year

• Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton (HarperCollins Publishers)
• Bridge of Clay, Markus Zusak (Pan Macmillan Australia)
• Shell, Kristina Olsson (Simon & Schuster Australia)
• The Shepherd’s Hut, Tim Winton (Penguin Random House Australia)
• Too Much Lip, Melissa Lucashenko (The University of Queensland Press)

Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)

• Amelia Westlake, Erin Gough (Hardie Grant Egmont)
• Catching Teller Crow, Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina (Allen & Unwin)
• Hive, A.J. Betts (Pan Macmillan)
• Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Worlds, Jeremy Lachlan (Hardie Grant Egmont)
• Small Spaces, Sarah Epstein (Walker Books)

Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7-13)

• Lenny’s Book of Everything, Karen Foxlee (Allen & Unwin)
• Real Pigeons Fight Crime, Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood (Hardie Grant Egmont)
• The 104-Storey Treehouse, Andy Griffiths, Terry Denton (Pan Macmillan Australia)
• The Bad Guys Episode 7: Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?!,  Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)
• Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow: Nevermoor 2,  Jessica Townsend (Hachette Australia)

To see the full list, visit the ABIA website.