Australian independent booksellers, members of Leading Edge Books, are thrilled to announce their Shortlist for the Indie Book Awards 2018, for the best Australian books published in 2017!

Now in its tenth year, the Indie Book Awards recognise and celebrate this country’s incredible talent and the role independent booksellers play in supporting and nurturing Australian writing.

Who will win in each category in 2018?

Who will take out the overall ‘2018 Book of the Year’ Award?!

Without further ado, here is the Shortlist for the 2018 Indie Book Awards:

FICTION SHORTLIST:

Force of Nature by Jane Harper (Pan Macmillan Australia)The Choke by Sofie Laguna (Allen & Unwin)On the Java Ridge by Jock Serong (Text Publishing)City of Crows by Chris Womersley (Pan Macmillan Australia)

NON-FICTION SHORTLIST:

Working Class Man by Jimmy Barnes (HarperCollins Australia)The Museum of Words by Georgia Blain (Scribe Publications)Saga Land by Richard Fidler & Kári Gíslason (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein (Text Publishing)

DEBUT FICTION SHORTLIST:

Wimmera by Mark Brandi (Hachette Australia)Australia Day by Melanie Cheng (Text Publishing)The Last Man in Europe by Dennis Glover (Black Inc.)See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt (Hachette Australia)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION SHORTLIST:

Maggie's Recipe For Life by Maggie Beer with Professor Ralph Martins (Simon & Schuster Australia)Cornersmith: Salads and Pickles by Alex Elliott-Howery & Sabine Spindler (Murdoch Books)Native: Art & Design with Australian Plants by Kate Herd & Jela Ivankovic-Waters (Thames & Hudson Australia)Beyond the Rock by Janelle McCulloch (Bonnier Publishing Australia)

CHILDREN’S SHORTLIST:

Pig the Star by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)I'm Australian Too by Mem Fox & Ronojoy Ghosh (Illus) (Scholastic Australia)Polly and Buster: The Wayward Witch and the Feelings Monster by Sally Rippin (Hardie Grant Egmont)Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Hachette Australia)

YOUNG ADULT SHORTLIST:

Beautiful Mess by Claire Christian (Text Publishing)Take Three Girls by Cath Crowley, Fiona Wood & Simmone Howell (Pan Macmillan Australia)Untidy Towns by Kate O'Donnell (University of Queensland Press)Wilder Country by Mark Smith (Text Publishing)

The Category Winners and the Overall ‘Book of the Year’ Winner will be announced on Monday 26 March, 2018 at the Leading Edge Books Annual Conference Awards Dinner to be held in Hobart, TAS.

Australian independent booksellers, members of Leading Edge Books, are thrilled to announce their Longlist for the Indie Book Awards 2018!

In 2018, we’re celebrating 10 years of the Indie Book Awards. The Awards recognise and celebrate the indie booksellers as the number one supporters of Australian authors. Since the Awards inception ten years ago, Indies have a well-deserved reputation for picking the best of the best in Australian writing. Past Book of the Year winners have gone on to be bestsellers and win other major literary awards. Previous winners include: The Dry by Jane Harper; The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood; The Bush by Don Watson; The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan; The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman; All That I Am by Anna Funder; The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do; Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey; and Breath by Tim Winton.

The Longlist for the Indie Book Awards 2018 is:

FICTION LONGLIST

A Long Way from Home by Peter Carey (Penguin Random House)The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser (Allen & Unwin)First Person by Richard Flanagan (Penguin Random House)Force of Nature by Jane Harper (Pan Macmillan Australia)The Choke by Sofie Laguna (Allen & Unwin)The Passage of Love by Alex Miller (Allen & Unwin)The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham (Hachette Australia)Taboo by Kim Scott (Pan Macmillan Australia)On the Java Ridge by Jock Serong (Text Publishing)City of Crows by Chris Womersley (Pan Macmillan Australia)

NON-FICTION LONGLIST

Danger Music by Eddie Ayres (Allen & Unwin)Working Class Man by Jimmy Barnes (HarperCollins Australia)The Museum of Words by Georgia Blain (Scribe Publications)Saga Land by Richard Fidler and Kari Gislason (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)Mrs Kelly by Grantlee Kieza (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein (Text Publishing)Call of the Reed Warbler by Charles Massy (University of Queensland Press)Detours by Tim Rogers (HarperCollins Australia)First, We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson (Pan Macmillan Australia)Tracker by Alexis Wright (Giramondo Publishing)

DEBUT FICTION

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey (Allen & Unwin)Wimmera by Mark Brandi (Hachette Australia)Australia Day by Melanie Cheng (Text Publishing)Terra Nullius by Claire Coleman (Hachette Australia)The Last Man in Europe by Dennis Glover (Black Inc.)The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green (Hachette Australia)To Become a Whale by Ben Hobson (Allen & Unwin)Storyland by Catherine McKinnon (HarperCollins Australia)See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt (Hachette Australia)Half Wild by Pip Smith (Allen & Unwin)

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

Maggie's Recipe For Life by Maggie Beer with Professor Ralph Martins (Simon & Schuster Australia)

Ostro by Julia Busuttil Nishimura (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Ferment by Holly Davis (Murdoch Books)

Cornersmith: Salads and Pickles by Alex Elliott-Howery & Sabine Spindler (Murdoch Books)

Native: Art & Design with Australian Plants by Kate Herd & Jela Ivankovic-Waters (Thames & Hudson Australia)

Paris: Through a Fashion Eye by Megan Hess (Hardie Grant Books)

Beyond the Rock by Janelle McCulloch (Bonnier Publishing Australia)

Hummus & Co by Michael Rantissi & Kristy Frawley (Murdoch Books)

Dreamscapes by Claire Takacs (Hardie Grant Books)

Flowersmith by Jennifer Tran (Hardie Grant Books)

CHILDREN’S

Pig the Star by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)Mopoke by Philip Bunting (Scholastic Australia)I'm Australian Too by Mem Fox & Ronojoy Ghosh (Illus) (Scholastic Australia)The Very Noisy Baby by Alison Lester (Affirm Press)I Just Ate My Friend by Heidi McKinnon (Allen & Unwin)Tales From a Tall Forest by Shaun Micallef (Hardie Grant Egmont)The Extremely Inconvenient adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty (Allen & Unwin)Polly and Buster: The Wayward Witch and the Feelings Monster by Sally Rippin (Hardie Grant Egmont)Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Hachette Australia)Florette by Anna Walker (Penguin Random House)

YOUNG ADULT

Take Three Girls by Cath Crowley, Fiona Wood & Simmone Howell (Pan Macmillan Australia)Beautiful Mess by Claire Christian (Text Publishing)Wilder Country by Mark Smith (Text Publishing)Untidy Towns by Kate O'Donnell (University of Queensland Press)Sparrow by Scot Gardner (Allen & Unwin)The Silent Invasion by James Bradley (Pan Macmillan Australia)Finding Nevo by Nevo Zisin (Walker Books Australia)Draekora by Lynette Noni (Pantera Press)My Life as a Hashtag by Gabrielle Williams (Allen & Unwin)The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil (Hardie Grant Egmont)

The Shortlist will be announced on 15 January 2018, with the Category Winners and the Overall Book of the Year Winner being announced at the Leading Edge Books Annual Conference Awards Dinner to be held on Monday 26 March, 2018 in Hobart, TAS. 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the Indie Book Awards. Come and celebrate with us.

The Indie Book Awards would like to gratefully acknowledge the 2018 Awards Sponsors: Affirm Press, Pan Macmillan Australia, Allen & Unwin, Hachette Australia, Thames & Hudson Australia, Bloomsbury Australia and Awards partner: Simon & Schuster Australia and Books+Publishing.

Australian Independent Booksellers, members of Leading Edge Books, are currently submitting their nominations for their favourite Australian books for 2017.

2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the Indie Book Awards. This year's winners will join an illustrious list of previous winners including Tim Winton, Richard Flanagan, Charlotte Wood and Jane Harper to name just a few.

Australian titles published in between January and December of 2017 are eligible for nominations. For full eligibility guidelines click .

A longlist of 60 titles will be announced on 6th December. The shortlist will follow on 15th January 2018.

The winners will be announced on Monday 26th March 2018 at the Leading Edge Books Annual Conference Awards Dinner to be held in Hobart Tasmania.

Australian Independent Booksellers are thrilled to announce The Dry by Jane Harper as their favourite Australian book from last year and the winner of The Indie Book Awards 2017 Book of the Year.

The individual category winners in Fiction, Non-fiction, Debut Fiction, Children’s and Young Adult were also announced. From these five category winners, the independent booksellers selected the best of the best – The 2017 Indie Book of the Year.

The Indie Book Awards as chosen by independent booksellers, members of Leading Edge Books, reward and promote excellence in Australian writing.

Affectionately termed ‘indies’, Australian independent booksellers have a proud reputation for choosing the best in Australian writing, with many of the winners going on to be bestsellers and win other major literary awards. Since its inception in 2008, the Indie Book Awards have chosen Breath by Tim Winton, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, All That I Am by Anna Funder, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, The Bush by Don Watson and The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood as previous overall winners.

Upon the announcement, Jane Harper said, “I am absolutely thrilled that The Dry has been named as Indie Book of the Year. Independent booksellers have championed the novel from the very start and thousands of readers have discovered The Dry thanks to their passionate hand-selling and personal recommendations. It is an honour to have been selected for this award by people who know readers so well, and I remain so grateful and touched by the enthusiasm and support independent booksellers have shown both for The Dry and Australian fiction in general.”

According to Galina Marinov, National Group Manager, Leading Edge Books, “We are hugely excited to announce The Dry by Jane Harper as the 2017 Book of the Year. From the moment the early proof editions landed on our desks we knew we had a very special book on our hands, a book independents can truly get behind: a literary crime thriller with profound and truly Australian sense of landscape and characters. A gripping and compulsively readable debut. Beautifully written, commercially successful and quintessentially Australian. A book any Australian independent bookseller can wholeheartedly recommend to their customers.

The Indie Book Awards 2017 Category Award winners are:

FICTION The Last Painting by Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith (Allen & Unwin)

NON-FICTION Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner (Text Publishing)

DEBUT FICTION The Dry by Jane Harper (Pan Macmillan)

CHILDREN’S Circle by Jeannie Baker (Walker Books)

YOUNG ADULT’S Words in Deep Water by Cath Crowley (Pan Macmillan)

The Indie Book Awards would like to gratefully acknowledge the 2017 Awards Sponsors: HarperCollins Australia as the Book of the Year sponsor and category sponsors: Pan Macmillan Australia, Hardie Grant Books, Hachette Australia, Bonnier Publishing Australia, Hardie Grant Egmont and also Awards partners: Simon & Schuster and Layout Works.

Thanks to our sponsors, each category winner will receive $1000, with additional $2000 sponsored by HarperCollins Australia going to the Book of the Year winner.

The Indie Book Awards are proudly co-ordinated by Leading Edge Books.

Australian independent booksellers are pleased to announce the Shortlist for The Indie Book Awards 2017.

The Indie Book Awards, as chosen by independent booksellers, members of Leading Edge Books, reward and promote excellence in Australian writing. Galina Marinov, National Group Manager of Leading Edge Books says, ‘There are no bigger supporters of Australian writing and publishing in this country than independent booksellers. Their love of book, knowledge and passion for Australian stories play indispensable role in keeping Australian publishing and culture alive. The 2017 Indie Book Awards Shortlist is a tribute to the enormous depth and breadth of writing talent in this country. We are excited to be supporting and working on the Indie Book Awards campaign again and look forward to the announcement of the Category Winners and the overall Indie Book Awards Winner on 20th March.’

Affectionately termed ‘indies’, Australian independent booksellers have a proud reputation for choosing the best in Australian writing, with many of the shortlisted books in previous years going on to be bestsellers and win other major literary awards. Since its inception in 2008, the Indie Book Awards have chosen Breath by Tim Winton, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, All That I Am by Anna Funder, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, The Bush by Don Watson and The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood as previous overall winners.

The twenty shortlisted books will be vying for the top spot as the Indie ‘Book of the Year’ for 2017. Panels of expert judges (all indie booksellers and avid readers) will choose the winners in the five book categories – Fiction, Debut Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s and Young Adult. Independent booksellers from around the country will then vote to select their favourite book for the year. The category winners and the overall ‘Book of the Year’ winner will be announced on Monday, 20th March, 2017 at the Leading Edge Books Annual Conference Awards Dinner, at the Marriott, Surfers Paradise.

The Shortlist for The Indie Book Awards 2017 is:

FICTION SHORTLIST

The Good People by Hannah Kent (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Where the Trees Were by Inga Simpson (Hachette Australia)

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith (Allen & Unwin)

NON-FICTION SHORTLIST

The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke (Hachette Australia)

Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)

Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford (Allen & Unwin)

Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner (Text Publishing)

DEBUT FICTION SHORTLIST

The Birdman's Wife by Melissa Ashley (Affirm Press)

The Midnight Watch by David Dyer (Penguin Books Australia)

The Dry by Jane Harper (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Goodwood by Holly Throsby (Allen & Unwin)

CHILDREN’S SHORTLIST

Circle by Jeannie Baker (Walker Books Australia)

Pig the Winner by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)

The 78-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton (Illus) (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Wormwood Mire by Judith Rossell (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)

YOUNG ADULT SHORTLIST

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

The Road to Winter by Mark Smith (Text Publishing)

Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland (Penguin Books Australia)

The Indie Book Awards would like to gratefully acknowledge the 2017 Awards Sponsors: HarperCollins Australia, Pan Macmillan Australia, Hardie Grant, Hachette Australia, Bonnier Publishing and Hardie Grant Egmont, and Awards supporter: Simon & Schuster Australia.

Australian independent booksellers, members of Leading Edge Books, are proud to announce the Longlist for The Indie Book Awards 2017. Established in 2008, the Indie Book Awards see independent booksellers take their rightful place in the spotlight as key supporters of Australian authors. The incredible passion and knowledge of independent booksellers makes them uniquely placed to judge and recommend the best Australian books of the past year to their customers and the general reading public. The Awards, for best book of a calendar year, cover the best Australian books in five categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Debut fiction, Children’s and Young Adult

Independent booksellers of Australia, affectionately termed ‘indies’, have a deserved reputation for choosing the best in Australian writing. These books often go on to be bestsellers and win other major literary awards. Previous winners include, The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood, The Bush by Don Watson, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, All That I Am by Anna Funder, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey and Breath by Tim Winton.

Galina Marinov, National Group Manager of Leading Edge Books says, 2016 has been a fantastic year for Australian publishing and independent bookselling in this country. Amidst ongoing changes in the book industry, the independent sector is thriving and support for Australian writing is as strong as ever, with independent booksellers playing an indispensable role in nurturing new Australian talent. Their passion, enthusiasm and dedication go a long way in fostering strong and vibrant Australian writing and culture. The Indie Book Awards Longlist gather in one place the best of the best in Australian writing of 2016 as chosen by Australian independent booksellers.

Announced early in the calendar year, The Indie Book Awards are now considered the forerunners of all major Australian book awards.

The Longlist for The Indie Book Awards 2017 is:

FICTION LONGLIST

The Easy Way Out by Steven Amsterdam (Hachette Australia)

Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain (Scribe Publications)

The Better Son by Katherine Johnson (Ventura Press)

The Good People by Hannah Kent (Pan Macmillan Australia)

An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta (Penguin Books Australia)

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty (Pan Macmillan Australia)

The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong (Text Publishing)

Where the Trees Were by Inga Simpson (Hachette Australia)

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith (Allen & Unwin)

NON-FICTION LONGLIST

Songs of a War Boy by Deng Thiak Adut, Ben Mckelvey (Hachette Australia)

Working Class Boy by Jimmy Barnes (HarperCollins Australia)

The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke (Hachette Australia)

Penguin Bloom by Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)

Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)

Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford (Allen & Unwin)

Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner (Text Publishing)

Talking To My Country by Stan Grant (HarperCollins Australia)

True Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia by David Hunt (Black Inc)

The Boy Behind the Curtain by Tim Winton (Penguin Books Australia)

DEBUT FICTION LONGLIST

The Birdman's Wife by Melissa Ashley (Affirm Press)

The Memory Artist by Katherine Brabon (Allen & Unwin)

The Windy Season by Sam Carmody (Allen & Unwin)

The Midnight Watch by David Dyer (Penguin Books Australia)

The Dry by Jane Harper (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall (Black Inc)

Music and Freedom by Zoe Morrison (Random House Australia)

The Toymaker by Liam Pieper (Penguin Books Australia)

Ruins by Rajith Savanadasa (Hachette Australia)

Goodwood by Holly Throsby (Allen & Unwin)

CHILDREN’S LONGLIST

Circle by Jeannie Baker (Walker Books Australia)

Pig the Winner by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)

Charlie and the War Against the Grannies by Alan Brough (Pan Macmillan Australia)

What do they do with all the Poo from all the Animals at the Zoo? by Anh Do & Laura Wood (Illus) (Scholastic Australia)

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon (Hachette Australia)

The 78-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton (Illus) (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Welcome To Country by Joy Murphy & Lisa Kennedy (Illus) (Walker Books Australia)

Molly and Mae by Danny Parker and Freya Blackwood (Illus) (Hardie Grant Egmont)

Wormwood Mire by Judith Rossell (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)

Artie and the Grime Wave by Richard Roxburgh (Allen & Unwin)

YOUNG ADULT LONGLIST

When Michael Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley (Pan Macmillan Australia)

The Other Side of Summer by Emily Gale (Random House Australia)

Breathing Under Water by Sophie Hardcastle (Hachette Australia)

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis (Penguin Books Australia)

My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier (Allen & Unwin)

The Road to Winter by Mark Smith (Text Publishing)

Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland (Penguin Books Australia)

One Would Think the Deep by Claire Zorn (University of Queensland Press)

The Shortlist will be announced on 16 January 2017, with the Category Winners and the Overall Book of the Year Winner being announced at the Leading Edge Books 2017 Conference on Monday, 20th March 2017 at the Marriott, Surfers Paradise.

The Indie Book Awards would like to gratefully acknowledge the 2017 Awards Sponsors: HarperCollins Australia, Pan Macmillan Australia, Hardie Grant, Hachette Australia, Bonnier Publishing and Hardie Grant Egmont, and Awards supporter: Simon & Schuster Australia.

Australian Independent Booksellers are currently submitting their nominations for their favourite Australian books for 2016.

Australian titles published in between January and December of 2016 are eligible for nominations. For full eligibility guidelines click .

A longlist of 50 titles will be announced on 12th December. The shortlist will follow on 16th January 2017.

The winners will be announced on Monday 20th March 2017 at the Leading Edge Books Annual Conference Awards Dinner.

Tonight in Sydney, Australian Independent Booksellers, announced The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood as their favourite Australian book from last year and the winner of The Indie Book Awards 2016 Book of the Year.

The individual category winners in Fiction, Debut Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s and Young Adult were also announced. From these five category winners, the independent booksellers selected the best of the best - The Indie Book of the Year for 2016.

The Indie Book Awards are now considered the forerunners of all major Australian book awards. Since its inception in 2008, the Indie Book Awards have chosen Breath by Tim Winton, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, All That I Am by Anna Funder, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan and The Bush by Don Watson as previous overall winners.

Upon announcement, Charlotte Wood said, “I’m so thrilled to win this prize, and to be shortlisted among so many of our country’s finest writers. None of my books would have had a life without the years of support I’ve had from Australian independent booksellers. My writing life is made possible by these avid readers and recommenders of books, and I’m profoundly grateful.”

“In thinking about Australia’s independent booksellers, it struck me that you are like that seed vault. You are storehouses for the kernels not only of our literary culture but our history, our music, our food culture, our health and legal and technological culture, our visual arts, our politics. You are the safety vault for the seeds of our country’s cultural and intellectual life, and your customers are the spreaders of those seeds out in the world.”

“I am so very, very touched by this award, and so grateful.”

According to Galina Marinov, National Group Manager, Leading Edge Books, “We are hugely proud to announce The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood as the 2016 Indie Book Awards Book of the Year. On the independents bestsellers’ list since publication in October last year, The Natural Way of Things embodies all the qualities of an ‘indie’ winner - a gripping, imaginative and compulsively readable novel; a brave, timely and thought-provoking book that challenges our society’s darkest traits. Hand-sold over the counters, read, re-read and discussed at book clubs and events all over the country, Charlotte Wood’s gritty and powerful novel is a fine addition to the Indie Books Awards winners’ list.”

Allen & Unwin commented: “Everyone at Allen & Unwin is thrilled that Charlotte Wood’s extraordinary novel The Natural Way of Things has been so honoured by the independent booksellers of Australia. From the moment this manuscript landed on our desks we knew we had something very special, a novel of huge power and originality, and a book whose time had surely come. We also felt charged with the responsibility of making sure that it would reach as many readers as possible, and went about doing that with the passion that great literature inspires. Crucial to that mission were the brilliant, tireless independent booksellers of Australia who wholeheartedly embraced The Natural Way of Things and did all they could to get it into as many of their customers’ hands as possible. A huge thank you to the wonderful booksellers of the Leading Edge group for being the best friends a book could have, and for further honouring Charlotte with this great award. And many congratulations to Charlotte for writing this stunning and transformative novel that we are so proud to publish.”

The Indie Book Awards 2016 Category Award winners are:

FICTION

The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)

NON-FICTION

Reckoning: A Memoir by Magda Szubanski (Text Publishing)

DEBUT FICTION

Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan)

CHILDREN’S

The Bad Guys, Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)

YOUNG ADULT’S

Cloudwish by Fiona Wood (Pan Macmillan)

The Indie Book Awards 2016 would like to gratefully acknowledge the Category Sponsors of the Indie Book Awards 2016 campaign: Allen & Unwin, NewSouth Books, Hachette Australia, HaperCollins Children’s Books Australia and Hardie Grant Egmont and also the Awards Partners: Pan Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Books+Publishing, Mercury Creative and Bien Catering.

The Indie Book Awards category winners and the overall Book of the Year will be announced in Sydney on Wednesday 23rd March.

Since its inception seven years ago, the Indie Books Awards have picked the best of the best as their Book of the Year winner. The following titles have won the Award: Breath by Tim Winton, The Happiest Refugee by AnhDo, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, All That I Am by Anna Funder, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan and The Bush by Don Watson.

Who will join the Indie Awards celebrated list of winners this year?

The awards ceremony has become a well-established fixture on the Australian book industry calendar attended by independent booksellers, authors, publishers and the media. Over 100 industry representatives and media attended the Awards ceremony in 2015. The 2016 Indie Awards Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, 23rd March at 'The Terrace', Allen & Unwin Publishers Sydney.

Australian Independent Booksellers are pleased to announce the Shortlist for The Indie Book Awards 2016. Independent booksellers of Australia, affectionately termed ‘indies’, have a proud reputation for choosing the best in Australian writing, with many of the shortlisted books in previous years going on to be bestsellers and win other major literary awards. The latest reports for the Christmas 2015 period reveal an increase in both volume and value of books sold in the Australian market, proving that the print book and bookshops are well and truly alive and thriving.

With a new category added this year in response to bookseller feedback, the twenty shortlisted books will be vying for the top spot as the Indie ‘Book of the Year’ for 2016. Panels of expert judges (all indie booksellers and avid readers) choose the winners from five book categories – Fiction, Debut Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s and Young Adult. Independent booksellers from around the country will then vote to select their favourite book for the year. The category winners and the overall ‘Book of the Year’ winner will be announced on Wednesday 23 March, 2016 in Sydney.

The Indie Book Awards are now considered the forerunners of all major Australian book awards. Since its inception in 2008, the Indie Book Awards have chosen Breath by Tim Winton, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, All That I Am by Anna Funder, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan and The Bush by Don Watson as previous overall winners.

The Shortlist for The Indie Book Awards 2016 is:

FICTION SHORTLISTA Guide to Berlin by Gail Jones (Random House Australia)The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop (Hachette Australia)The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (Hachette Australia)

NON-FICTION SHORTLISTFlesh Wounds by Richard Glover (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)One Life by Kate Grenville (Text Publishing)Reckoning: A Memoir by Magda Szubanski (Text Publishing)The Anti-Cool Girl by Rosie Waterland (HarperCollins Australia)

DEBUT FICTION SHORTLISTRelativity by Antonia Hayes (Penguin Australia)Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett (Pan Macmillan Australia)Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia)The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader (HarperCollins Australia)

CHILDREN’S SHORTLISTOlive of Groves by Katrina Nannestad & Lucia Masciullo, Illus (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)The 65-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, Illus (Pan Macmillan Australia)The Bad Guys, Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)

YOUNG ADULT SHORTLISTCloudwish by Fiona Wood (Macmillan Australia)Prince of Afghanistan by Louis Nowra (Allen & Unwin)Ranger’s Apprentice: The Early Years 1: The Tournament at Gorlan by John Flanagan (Random House Australia)Soon by Morris Gleitzman (Penguin Australia)

The Indie Book Awards category winners and the Book of the Year 2016 will be announced at an event in the Sydney CBD on Wednesday 23 March.

We would like to gratefully acknowledge and thank the official Category Sponsors of the Indie Book Awards 2016 campaign:

Allen & Unwin – sponsoring the Fiction Award

NewSouth Books – sponsoring the Non-Fiction Award

Hachette Australia – sponsoring the Debut Fiction Award

HarperCollins Children’s Books Australia – sponsoring the Children’s Award

Hardie Grant Egmont – sponsoring the Young Adult Award

And also thank our Awards Partners:

Macmillan Australia

Simon & Schuster Australia

The shortlist for the 2016 Indie Book Awards will be announced tomorrow, Tuesday 19th January. The twenty shortlisted titles will be vying for the top spot as the 'Indie Book of the Year'. Independent booksellers across the country have nomiated the best Australian writing across five categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Debut Fiction, Children's and YA.

Independent booksellers of Australia, affectionately termed ‘indies’, have a proud reputation for choosing the best in Australian writing, with many of the shortlisted books in previous years going on to be bestsellers and win other major literary awards.

In line with all major literary awards around the world, Australian Independent Booksellers of Australia have announced the Longlist for The Indie Book Awards 2016. Established in 2008, these awards see independent booksellers take their rightful place in the spotlight as key supporters of Australian authors. The incredible passion and knowledge of independent booksellers makes them uniquely placed to judge and recommend the best Australian books of the past year to their customers and the general reading public. This year, in response to bookseller feedback, a new category has been added splitting the Children’s award into Children’s and Young Adult categories, to reflect the strength of the market for these books.

Independent booksellers of Australia, affectionately termed ‘indies’, have a deserved reputation for choosing the best in Australian writing. These books often go on to be bestsellers and win other major literary awards. Previous winners include The Bush by Don Watson, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, All That I Am by Anna Funder, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey and Breath by Tim Winton.

Galina Marinov, National Group Manager of Leading Edge Books says, “The breadth and depth of the Longlist shows once again the special skill independent booksellers have in picking the best of the best in Australian writing. Splitting the former Children’s and Young Adult category into two separate categories for the 2016 awards recognises the importance of these genres and acknowledges their unique contribution to the quality and diversity of writing and publishing in Australia.”

Announced early in the calendar year, The Indie Book Awards are now considered the forerunners of all major Australian book awards.

The Longlist for The Indie Book Awards 2016 is:

FICTION LONGLIST

A Guide to Berlin by Gail Jones (Random House Australia)

Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham (Hachette Australia)

Hope Farm by Peggy Frew (Scribe Publications)

Quicksand by Steve Toltz (Penguin Australia)

The Lake House by Kate Morton (Allen & Unwin)

The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)

The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop (Hachette Australia)

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (Hachette Australia)

The Wonder Lover by Malcolm Knox (Allen & Unwin)

Useful by Debra Oswald (Penguin Australia)

NON-FICTION LONGLIST

A Mother's Story by Rosie Batty &Bryce Corbett (HarperCollins Australia)

Adam Spencer's World of Numbers by Adam Spencer (NewSouth Books)

Bad Behaviour by Rebecca Starford (Allen & Unwin)

Flesh Wounds by Richard Glover (HarperCollins Australia)

Green Nomads by Bob Brown (Hardie Grant Books)

Island Home by Tim Winton (Penguin Australia)

Keating by Kerry O'Brien (Allen & Unwin)

One Life by Kate Grenville (Text Publishing)

Reckoning: A Memoir by Magda Szubanski (Text Publishing)

The Anti-Cool Girl by Rosie Waterland (HarperCollins Australia)

DEBUT FICTION LONGLIST

Anchor Point by Alice Robinson (Affirm Press)

Fever of Animals by Miles Allinson (Scribe Publications)

In The Quiet by Eliza Henry-Jones (HarperCollins Australia)

Lost Swimmer by Ann Turner (Simon & Schuster Australia)

Relativity by Antonia Hayes (Penguin Australia)

Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia)

The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader (HarperCollins Australia)

The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth (Pan Macmillan Australia)

When There's Nowhere Else to Run by Murray Middleton (Allen & Unwin)

CHILDREN’S LONGLIST

Mr Huff by Anna Walker (Penguin Australia)

My Dog Bigsy by Alison Lester (Penguin Australia)

Olive of Groves by Katrina Nannestad & Lucia Masciullo, Illus (HarperCollins Australia)

Paper Planes by Steve Worland (Penguin Australia)

Pig the Fibber by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)

The 65-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, Illus (Pan Macmillan Australia)

The Bad Guys, Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)

The Cat with the Coloured Tail by Gillian Mears & Dinalie Dabarera (Walker Books)

The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)

Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia)

YOUNG ADULT LONGLIST

Cloudwish by Fiona Wood (Macmillan Australia)

Green Valentine by Lili Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin)

Pieces of Sky by Trinity Doyle (Allen & Unwin)

Prince of Afghanistan by Louis Nowra (Allen & Unwin)

Ranger’s Apprentice: The Early Years 1: The Tournament at Gorlan by John Flanagan (Random House Australia)

Red Queen: Obernewtyn, Book 7 by Isobel Carmody (Penguin Australia)

Risk by Fleur Ferris (Random House Australia)

Sister Heart by Sally Morgan (Fremantle Press)

Soon by Morris Gleitzman (Penguin Australia)

The Flywheel by Erin Gough (Hardie Grant)

The Shortlist will be announced on 19 January 2016, with the category winners and the overall ‘Book of the Year’ winner being announced in Sydney, at an awards ceremony, on Wednesday, 23 March 2016.

The longlist for the 2016 Indie Book Awards will be announced tomorrow, Friday 11th December. Independent booksellers were invited to nominate their favourite titles from 2015 in the following categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Debut Fiction, Children's and YA. These nominations have been collated and a longlist of 50 titles will be announced.

The Indie Book Awards is in it's eighth year and recognises the role Australian independent booksellers play in promoting Australian writing.

Australian Independent Booksellers are currently submitting their nominations for their favourite Australian books for 2015.

Australian titles published in between January and December of 2015 are eligible for nominations. For full eligibility guidelines click here.

A longlist of 50 titles will be announced in December. The shortlist will follow in January 2016.

Tonight, Wednesday 25 March, at a special event in Sydney's CBD, the Indie Book Awards Category Winners and the Indie Book of the Year were announced.2015 Indie Book Awards Category winners are: Indie Book of the Year Fiction winner:Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett (Penguin Random House Australia) Indie Book of the Year Non-Fiction winner:The Bush by Don Watson (Penguin Random House Australia) Indie Book of the Year Children's & YA winner:Withering-by-Sea by Judith Rossell (ABC Books, HarperCollins Publishers Australia) Indie Book of the Year Debut Fiction winner:Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke (Hachette Australia) And the 2015 Indie Book Award overall winner therefore the Indie Book of the Year is: The Bush: Travels in the Heart of Australia by Don Watson (Penguin Random House Australia).

Don Watson says: 'I am delighted. How could I not be? Like every other writer in Australia, I regularly give thanks for our independent booksellers, and I would go down on my knees to do so if I thought it would help them to thrive. Writers and readers and publishers, suburbs, towns and communities, from toddlers to old age pensioners the whole country is blessed by them. They have fought off the monopolising tendencies of capitalism, the Internet, mobile phones, and ipads; they have defied the general trend to instant gratification, fads, fashion and ignorance itself. In little shops all over the continent they keep the book - and many hearts and minds - alive. I can imagine no greater honour for an Australian writer than these Indie awards they have bestowed on The Bush. So I thank them - even more deeply this week than last' Don Watson will be interviewed about his win and his work on ABC Radio National Arts and Books daily on Tuesday 31 March at 10am.

The shortlist falls into four categories - fiction, non-fiction, debut fiction and children’s and YA books. The Indie Book Awards shortlists for 2015 are as follows:

FICTION SHORTLIST:When the Night Comes by Favel Parrett (Hachette Australia) Amnesia by Peter Carey (Penguin Books Australia) Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett (Penguin Books Australia) The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (Text Publishing) NON- FICTION SHORTLIST : This House of Grief by Helen Garner (Text Publishing) Bush by Don Watson (Penguin Books Australia) Where Song Began by Tim Low (Penguin Books Australia) Cadence by Emma Ayres (ABC Books, HarperCollins Publishers Australia) CHILDREN’S & YA SHORTLIST : The 52-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (illus)(Pan Macmillan Australia) Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Australia) Withering-By-Sea by Judith Rossell (ABC Books, HarperCollins Publishers Australia) Laurinda by Alice Pung (Black Inc. Publishing) DEBUT FICTION SHORTLIST : Lost & Found by Brooke Davis (Hachette Australia)Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clark (Hachette Australia) The Strays by Emily Bitto (Affirm Press) After Darkness by Christine Piper (Allen & Unwin)

The Indie Book Awards category winners and the Indie Book Awards overall winner for 2015 will be announced at an event in the Sydney CBD on Wednesday 25 March. Follow us on facebook and twitter #IndieBookAwards2015