Australian independent booksellers have nominated their favourite Australian books of 2022 and are thrilled to announce their Longlist for the Indie Book Awards 2023!
Established in 2008, the Indie Book Awards celebrate the best Australian writing; and who better to nominate and judge the best-of-the-best than indie booksellers! What makes indie booksellers uniquely placed to judge and recommend the best Aussie books of the past year, is their incredible passion and knowledge, their contribution to the cultural diversity of the Australian reading public, by recommending beyond the big brands, and above all, their love of quality writing. The Awards recognise and celebrate indie booksellers as the number one supporters of Australian authors.
Leanne Kadareanu, Head of Books at Leading Edge Retail, proud facilitator of the awards says: “It is exciting to announce the Longlist for the Indie Book Awards 2023 - these are booksellers' favourite Australian titles of the last year. Independent booksellers are known for their passion and their customers keep returning for their recommendations on what to read next. Their stores are havens for book lovers of all ages and their knowledge and service is second to none. So, trust them when they say - these books are the best of the best.”
The Awards cover the best Australian books in six categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Debut Fiction, Illustrated Non-Fiction, Children’s books (up to 12yo) and Young Adult (12+).
Since the Awards inception, independent booksellers 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: Love Stories by Trent Dalton; The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams; There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett; Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton; Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend; 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.
Announced early in the award calendar year, The Indie Book Awards are now considered the forerunners of all major Australian book awards.
The Longlist for the Indie Book Awards 2023 is:
FICTION LONGLIST
Limberlost by Robbie Arnott (Text Publishing)
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au (Giramondo)
Horse by Geraldine Brooks (Hachette Australia)
The Tilt by Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin)
Salt and Skin by Eliza Henry-Jones (Ultimo Press)
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane (Allen & Unwin)
Seeing Other People by Diana Reid (Ultimo Press)
The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland (Fourth Estate Australia)
Willowman by Inga Simpson (Hachette Australia)
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (Michael Joseph Australia)
NON-FICTION LONGLIST
The Boy from Boomerang Crescent by Eddie Betts (Simon & Schuster Australia)
The Ballad of Abdul Wade by Ryan Butta (Affirm Press)
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Emma Carey (Allen & Unwin)
The Book Of Roads And Kingdoms by Richard Fidler (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)
Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby (Allen & Unwin)
The First Astronomers by Duane Hamacher, with Elders and Knowledge Holders (Allen & Unwin)
Raised by Wolves by Jess Ho (Affirm Press)
Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here by Heather Rose (Allen & Unwin)
The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner by Grace Tame (Macmillan Australia)
The Jane Austen Remedy by Ruth Wilson (Allen & Unwin)
DEBUT FICTION LONGLIST
Sunbathing by Isobel Beech (Allen & Unwin)
The Islands by Emily Brugman (Allen & Unwin)
Wake by Shelley Burr (Hachette Australia)
The Mother by Jane Caro (Allen & Unwin)
Cautionary Tales for Excitable Girls by Anne Casey-Hardy (Scribner Australia)
Every Version of You by Grace Chan (Affirm Press)
Jesustown by Paul Daley (Allen & Unwin)
All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien (HQ Fiction, HarperCollins)
Son of Sin by Omar Sakr (Affirm Press)
Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor (Macmillan Australia)
ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION LONGLIST
Bush Life by Beauty in the Bush Collective (Affirm Press)
Eat Weeds by Diego Bonetto (Thames & Hudson Australia)
With Nature by Fiona Brockhoff (Hardie Grant Books)
Sons of War by Paul Byrnes (Affirm Press)
First Nations Food Companion by Damien Coulthard and Rebecca Sullivan (Murdoch Books)
Big Beautiful Female Theory by Eloise Grills (Affirm Press)
Cressida Campbell by National Gallery of Australia (National Gallery of Australia)
RecipeTin Eats: Dinner by Nagi Maehashi (Macmillan Australia)
Tenderheart by Hetty McKinnon (Plum)
Creature: Paintings, Drawings and Reflections by Shaun Tan (Windy Hollow Books)
CHILDREN’S LONGLIST
Frank's Red Hat by Sean E Avery (Walker Books Australia)
Come Together by Isaiah Firebrace, illustrated by Jaelyn Biumaiwai (Hardie Grant Explore)
Market Day by Carrie Gallasch, illustrated by Hannah Sommerville (Hardie Grant Children's Publishing)
Ceremony: Welcome to Our Country by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing, illustrated by David Hardy (Allen & Unwin Children’s)
Guardians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 1 by Jordan Gould and Richard Pritchard (Albert Street Books)
Floof by Heidi McKinnon (Albert Street Books)
The Bookseller's Apprentice by Amelia Mellor (Affirm Press)
All The World Says Goodnight by Jess Racklyeft (Affirm Press)
Runt by Craig Silvey (Allen & Unwin)
My Strange Shrinking Parents by Zeno Sworder (Thames & Hudson Australia)
YOUNG ADULT LONGLIST
Cop and Robber by Tristan Bancks (Puffin)
The Museum of Broken Things by Lauren Draper (Text Publishing)
Completely Normal (and Other Lies) by Biffy James (Hardie Grant Children's Publishing)
A Little Spark by Barry Jonsberg (Allen & Unwin Children's)
Sugar by Carly Nugent (Text Publishing)
Walk in the Dark by Jane Godwin (Lothian Children's Books)
Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood (Text Publishing)
Only a Monster by Vanessa Len (Allen & Unwin Children's)
The Brink by Holden Sheppard (Text Publishing)
Where You Left Us by Rhiannon Wilde (University of Queensland Press)
The Shortlist will be announced on 18 January 2023, with the Category Winners and the Overall Book of the Year Winner being announced at a virtual awards event on Monday 20 March 2023.
The Indie Book Awards would like to gratefully acknowledge the 2023 Awards Sponsors: Shawline Publishing Group, Allen & Unwin, HarperCollins, Text Publishing, Thames & Hudson, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House and Awards partner Hachette and Pan Macmillan.
