The Australian Book Industry Awards are back again for 2019! An initiative of the Australian Publishers Association, the ABIAs applaud the achievements of writer, illustrator, publicist and publisher alike. A 250 strong team, made up of representatives across the industry, came together to craft this latest longlist, celebrating the bookish best of 2018.
The 2019 ABIA longlist is as follows:
Biography Book of the Year
- Back, After the Break – Osher Günsberg (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
- Butterfly on a Pin: A memoir of love, despair and reinvention – Alannah Hill (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
- Challenge Accepted! – Celeste Barber (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
- Eggshell Skull – Bri Lee (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
- Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography – Johnathan Thurston, with James Phelps (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
- One Hundred Years of Dirt – Rick Morton (Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne University Press)
- Speaking Up – Gillian Triggs (Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne University Press)
- Teacher – Gabbie Stroud (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)
- Amelia Westlake – Erin Gough (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
- Between Us – Clare Atkins (Black Inc. Books, Black Inc.)
- Catching Teller Crow – Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
- Hive – A. J. Betts (Pan Macmillan Australia, Pan Australia)
- Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Worlds – Jeremy Lachlan (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
- P is for Pearl – Eliza Henry-Jones (HarperCollins Publishers, Angus & Robertson)
- Small Spaces – Sarah Epstein (Walker Books Australia, Walker Books Australia)
- Tales from the Inner City – Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7-12)
- Lenny’s Book of Everything – Karen Foxlee (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
- Ninja Kid #1 – Anh Do and Jeremy Ley (Scholastic Australia, Scholastic Press)
- Polly and Buster: The Mystery of the Magic Stones – Sally Rippin (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
- Real Pigeons Fight Crime – Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
- The 104-Storey Treehouse – Andy Griffiths, Terry Denton (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)
- The Bad Guys Episode 7: Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?! – Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia, Scholastic Press)
- The Tales of Mr Walker – Jess Black and Sara Acton (Penguin Random House Australia, Puffin)
- Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow: Nevermoor 2 – Jessica Townsend (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Lothian Children’s Books)
Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0-6)
- All the Ways to be Smart – Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys (Scribe Publications, Scribble Kids’ Books)
- Cicada – Shaun Tan (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Lothian Children’s Books)
- Claris: The Chicest Mouse in Paris – Megan Hess (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
- Go Go and the Silver Shoes – Jane Godwin and Anna Walker (Penguin Random House Australia, Viking)
- If I Was Prime Minister – Beck and Robin Feiner (HarperCollins Publishers, ABC Books)
- Love Makes a Family – Sophie Beer (Hardie Grant Egmont, Little Hare Books)
- Macca the Alpaca – Matt Cosgrove (Scholastic Australia, Koala Books)
- Pig the Grub – Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia, Scholastic Press)
General Fiction Book of the Year
- Nine Perfect Strangers – Liane Moriarty (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)
- Scrublands – Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
- The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Holly Ringland (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)
- The Lost Man – Jane Harper (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)
- The Nowhere Child – Christian White (Affirm Press)
- The Other Wife – Michael Robotham (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Hachette Australia)
- The Rúin – Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris (Echo Publishing, Echo Publishing)
General Non-fiction Book of the Year
- Any Ordinary Day – Leigh Sales (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
- Boys Will Be Boys – Clementine Ford (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
- Dear Santa – Samuel Johnson (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Hachette Australia)
- No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison – Behrouz Boochani, Omid Tofighian (translator) (Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador Australia)
- The Arsonist – Chloe Hooper (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
- The Land Before Avocado – Richard Glover (HarperCollins Publishers, ABC Books)
- Welcome to Country: A Travel Guide to Indigenous Australia – Marcia Langton (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Travel)
- Woo’s Wonderful World of Maths – Eddie Woo (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)
Illustrated Book of the Year
- A Painted Landscape: Across Australia from Bush to Coast – Amber Creswell Bell (Thames & Hudson Australia, Thames & Hudson Australia)
- Chromatopia: An Illustrated History of Colour – David Coles (Thames & Hudson Australia, Thames & Hudson Australia)
- Family: New vegetable classics to comfort and nourish – Hetty McKinnon (Pan Macmillan Australia, Plum)
- Flour and Stone: Baked for Love, Life & Happiness – Nadine Ingram with photography by Alan Benson (Simon & Schuster Australia, Julie Gibbs for Simon & Schuster Australia)
- Mirka & Georges – Lesley Harding & Kendrah Morgan (Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne University Press)
- Resident Dog: Incredible Homes and the Dogs That Live There – Nicole England (Thames & Hudson Australia, Thames & Hudson Australia)
- Special Guest – Annabel Crabb and Wendy Sharpe (Murdoch Books, Murdoch Books)
- The Cook’s Apprentice – Stephanie Alexander (Penguin Random House Australia, Lantern)
International Book of the Year
- Becoming – Michelle Obama (Penguin Random House Australia, Viking)
- CIRCE – Madeline Miller (Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury)
- Fear: Trump in the White House – Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster UK, Simon & Schuster UK)
- Less – Andrew Sean Greer (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Abacus)
- Lost Connections – Johann Hari (Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury Circus)
- Milkman – Anna Burns (Faber & Faber, Faber & Faber)
- Normal People – Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, Faber & Faber)
- Ottolenghi SIMPLE – Yotam Ottolenghi (Penguin Random House Australia, Ebury Press)
Literary Fiction Book of the Year
- Boy Swallows Universe – Trent Dalton (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)
- Bridge of Clay – Markus Zusak (Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador Australia)
- In the Garden of the Fugitives – Ceridwen Dovey (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
- Shell – Kristina Olsson (Simon & Schuster Australia, Scribner Australia)
- The Children’s House – Alice Nelson (Penguin Random House Australia, Vintage Australia)
- The Shepherd’s Hut – Tim Winton (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
- Too Much Lip – Melissa Lucashenko (The University of Queensland Press, UQP)
- Wintering – Krissy Kneen (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year
- A Superior Spectre – Angela Meyer (Ventura Press, Peter Bishop Books)
- Blakwork – Alison Whittaker (Magabala Books, Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation)
- Deep Time Dreaming – Billy Griffiths (Black Inc. Books, Black Inc.)
- Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia – Dr Anita Heiss (ed.) (Black Inc Books, Black Inc.)
- The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted – Robert Hillman (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
- The Geography of Friendship – Sally Piper (The University of Queensland Press, UQP)
- The Western Front Diaries of Charles Bean – Edited by Peter Burness (UNSW Press, published in association with the Australian War Memorial, NewSouth)
- Wild Sea: A History of the Southern Ocean – Joy McCann (UNSW Press, NewSouth)
Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year
- Alfred’s War – Rachel Bin Salleh and Samantha Fry (Magabala Books, Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation)
- Black Cockatoo – Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler (Magabala Books, Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation)
- Empty – Andrew Pratley, Angel McMullan (New Frontier Publishing, Little Steps Publishing)
- Heads And Tails: Insects – John Canty (author/illustrator) (Berbay Publishing, Berbay Publishing)
- I Had Such Friends – Meg Gatland-Veness (Pantera Press, Pantera Press)
- Night Walk – Alison Binks (writer and illustrator) (Berbay Publishing, Berbay Publishing)
- Rhyme Cordial – Antonia Pesenti (Scribe Publications, Scribble Kids’ Books)
- The Extremely Weird Thing that Happened in Huggabie Falls – Adam Cece (illustrated by Andrew Weldon) (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
- Whisper – Lynette Noni (Pantera Press, Pantera Press)
The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year
- Boy Swallows Universe – Trent Dalton (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)
- The Nowhere Child – Christian White (Affirm Press)
- Eggshell Skull – Bri Lee (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
- One Hundred Years of Dirt – Rick Morton (Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne University Press)
- Teacher – Gabbie Stroud (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
- The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Holly Ringland (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)
- The Rúin – Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris (Echo Publishing, Echo Publishing)
The shortlist will be announced on April 11th, with winners of the Rising Star Award, the Lloyd O’Neill Hall of Fame Award, and the Pixie O’Harris Award for consistent contribution to children’s literature, announced a week later on April 18th.
The final awards will be presented at a huge red carpet event on May 2nd, during the Sydney Writers Festival, and tickets are on sale now!
For more information on the ABIAs, including past winners, check out their website!
