The shortlist for the 2023 ABIAs (Australian Book Industry Awards) has been announced.

The ABIAs demonstrate the exceptional collaborations occurring between publishers, authors, editors, illustrators, marketers and designers in bringing quality books to Australian and international markets.

The ABIA Academy, comprising more than 250 publishers, booksellers, agents, media and industry representatives, has selected the shortlists from books published over the past calendar year, across 13 categories. It’s fair to say that the quality of work has made selection tough, and every shortlisted title is a worthy contender.

The 2023 shortlist features some of the biggest names in the Australian book industry as well as incredible new talent. The shortlist determines which titles, publishers and authors will be in the running for the 2023 ABIAs.

For the first time, the shortlist will include a new category, Social Impact Book of the Year. Advocacy and support for cultural diversity and feminism are key themes among the works represented in the inaugural shortlist for this award.

The winners will be announced at the publishing industry’s red-carpet Awards night, to be held on Thursday, 25 May 2023 at Darling Island (Doltone House) in Sydney.

The shortlist for General Fiction Book of the Year is:

• Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)

• The Tilt by Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin)

• Exiles by Jane Harper (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)

• Day’s End by Garry Disher (Text Publishing)

• Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (Penguin Random House,

  Michael Joseph)

The shortlist for Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7–12) is:

• The Bookseller’s Apprentice by Amelia Mellor (Affirm Press)

• Guardians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 1 by Jordan Gould and Richard Pritchard (Allen & Unwin,

  Albert Street Books)

•  A Girl Called Corpse: An Elston-Fright Tale by Reece Carter, illustrated by Simon Howe (Allen &

  Unwin)

• Runt by Craig Silvey, illustrated by Sara Acton (Allen & Unwin)

• Waiting for the Storks by Katrina Nannestad (HarperCollins Publishers, ABC Books)

Click here to read the full shortlist.