The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) have today announced their 2022 shortlist, with a star-studded awards ceremony set to take place in Sydney on June 9th.
The gala event will take place at ICC Sydney, hosted by actor, singer, and musical theatre star Alinta Chidzey, and with Wendy Whiteley, The Wiggles, Michelle Law, Peter Fitzsimons, Adam Goodes, and many more lined up to present awards.
The full shortlist is below – and we take no responsibility for the inevitable expansion of your TBR!
Audiobook of the Year
- Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray: River of Dreams – Anita Heiss
Narrated by Tamala Shelton - Emotional Female – Yumiko Kadota
Narrated by Yumiko Kadota - The Performance – Claire Thomas
Narrated by Edwina Wren et al. - Devotion – Hannah Kent
Narrated by Emily Wheaton - SPANIAN – The Unfiltered Hoodlife – Spanian and Christopher Kevin Au
Narrated by Spanian and Amos Phillips
Biography Book of the Year
- Emotional Female – Yumiko Kadota
- The Mother Wound – Amani Haydar
- Turns Out, I’m Fine – Judith Lucy
- It Wasn’t Meant to be Like This – Lisa Wilkinson
- My Adventurous Life – Dick Smith
Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)
- The Prison Healer – Lynette Noni
- Anything but Fine – Tobias Madden
- The Boy from the Mish – Gary Lonesborough
- The Gaps – Leanne Hall
- Welcome to Consent – Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang
Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7–12)
- Exit Through the Gift Shop – Maryam Master, illustrated by Astred Hicks
- The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature – Sami Bayly
- The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia’s First Peoples – Corey Tutt
- Dragon Skin – Karen Foxlee
- Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief – Katrina Nannestad
Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0–6)
- Day Break – Amy McQuire and Matt Chun
- Bedtime Sorted – Jimmy Rees, illustrated by Briony Stewart
- Winner Winner Bin Chicken Dinner – Kate and Joel Temple, illustrated by Ronojoy Gosh
- Somebody’s Land: Welcome to Our Country – Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing, illustrated by
David Hardy - Boss of Your Own Body – Byll and Beth Stephen, illustrated by Simon Howe
General Fiction Book of the Year – presented by Borrowbox
- The Younger Wife – Sally Hepworth
- Apples Never Fall – Liane Moriarty
- Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray – Anita Heiss
- Before You Knew My Name – Jacqueline Bublitz
- When Things are Alive They Hum – Hannah Bent
General Non-Fiction Book of the Year – presented by the Copyright Agency
- Toxic: The Rotting Underbelly of the Tasmanian Salmon Industry – Richard Flanagan
- She’s on the Money – Victoria Devine
- Heartsick: Three stories about love and loss, and what happens in between – Jessie
Stephens - So You Think You Know What’s Good for You? – Norman Swan
- Love Stories – Trent Dalton
Illustrated Book of the Year
- Still Life – Amber Creswell Bell
- Death to Jar Sauce – Nat’s What I Reckon
- You’re Doing it Wrong: A History of Bad and Bonkers Advice to Women – Kaz Cooke
- Everything I Love to Cook – Neil Perry
- Costa’s World – Costa Georgiadis
International Book of the Year
- These Precious Days – Ann Patchett
- Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love – Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad
- The Storyteller – Dave Grohl
- Beautiful World, Where Are You – Sally Rooney
- Still Life – Sarah Winman
Literary Fiction Book of the Year
- Devotion – Hannah Kent
- Love Objects – Emily Maguire
- Wild Abandon – Emily Bitto
- The Truth About Her – Jacqueline Maley
- Love & Virtue – Diana Reid
Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year
- Wild Mushrooming: A Guide for Foragers – Alison Pouliot and Tom May
- The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison – Sean Kelly
- Dropbear – Evelyn Araluen
- Caught in the Act – Shane Jenek
- Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience – Veronica Gorrie
Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year – presented by McPherson’s
- The Edge of Thirteen – Nova Weetman
- Let’s Eat Weeds – Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb, illustrated by Evie Barrow
- Tomorrow is a Brand-New Day – Davina Bell, illustrated by Allison Colpoys
- Albert Namatjira – Vincent Namatjira
- Kunyi -June Anne McInerney
The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year – presented by Simpsons Solicitors
- Before You Knew My Name – Jacqueline Bublitz
- The Truth About Her – Jacqueline Maley
- The Mother Wound – Amani Haydar
- When Things are Alive They Hum – Hannah Bent
- Love & Virtue – Diana Reid
Ahead of the main awards ceremony, the recipients of the the Lloyd O’Neil Hall of Fame Award (recognising outstanding service to the Australian book industry by an individual from within its ranks), the Pixie O’Harris Award (for consistent contribution to children’s literature) and the Rising Star Award (emerging talent in the Australian publishing industry) will be announced, alongside the shortlist for the Business Award.
For more info on the awards, including tickets to the awards ceremony, head to the ABIA website HERE.
