Each November, Australian independent booksellers are invited to submit their bookshop’s favourite titles of a calendar year.

Titles must be published in their original edition between 1 January and 31 December and are entirely authored and illustrated by current Australian citizens and permanent residents.

A Longlist of titles is compiled and announced in December and a Shortlist of 24 titles (4 titles per category) is announced in late January.
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The shortlisted titles are reviewed by independent judging panels made up of booksellers.  A winner is chosen in each category, and then an overall Book of the Year winner is voted on from the six category winners.  

The Awards process culminates in a ceremony in March, held online and attended by independent bookstores, authors, publishers and the media.

For full Guidelines and Timeline of the 2024 Indie Book Awards read here.