Australian independent booksellers have announced Killing for Country: A Family Story by David Marr (Black Inc) as the best book from the last year, and the winner of the Indie Book Awards 2024 Book of the Year.
The Book of the Year is voted by independent booksellers across the country from the six category winners. Bookseller judge Meera Govil from Eltham Bookshop described Marr’s book: “Killing for Country as a brave and bold book that records a story that has rarely been encountered by readers.”
Sentiments shared with bookseller judge Lindy Jones from Abbey’s Bookshop Sydney (NSW) commenting on Marr’s book: “A magisterial book that will retain its value for years to come, this is a grim and brutal subject handled in a measured and thoroughly researched way. It is not easy reading, but it is necessary reading. Marr’s meticulous research and careful prose tell the brutal colonial history of Indigenous dispossession through the greed and avarice of the squatters, the murderous barbarity of the lawless Native Police, and the criminal hypocrisy and wilful blindness of the governing class, both in Australia and Britain. Read it and weep, then be even more grateful and amazed by the dignity and graciousness of the Indigenous people who welcome us to country.”
The individual category winners in Fiction, Debut Fiction, Non-Fiction, Illustrated Non-Fiction, Children’s and Young Adult were also announced. From these six category winners, the independent booksellers selected the best of the best – The 2024 Indie Book of the Year.
The Winners for the Indie Book Awards 2024 are:
BOOK OF THE YEAR
by David Marr (Black Inc.)
FICTION
Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko (University of Queensland Press)
NON-FICTION
Killing for Country: A Family Story by David Marr (Black Inc.)
DEBUT FICTION
The Visitors by Jane Harrison (Fourth Estate Australia)
ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION
The Bird Art of William T. Cooper by Wendy Cooper (National Library of Australia)
CHILDREN’S
The Impossible Secret of Lillian Velvet by Jaclyn Moriarty (Allen & Unwin Children's)
YOUNG ADULT
Welcome to Sex by Dr Melissa Kang & Yumi Stynes (Hardie Grant Children's Publishing)
The Indie Book Awards would like to gratefully acknowledge the 2024 Awards Sponsors:
Book of the Year Award sponsored by HarperCollins Publishers
Fiction Award sponsored by Allen & Unwin
Non-Fiction Award sponsored by Simon & Schuster Australia
Debut Fiction Award sponsored by Affirm Press
Illustrated Non-Fiction Award sponsored by Thames & Hudson
Children’s Award sponsored by Hachette Australia
Young Adult Award sponsored by Penguin Random House
and awards partner Pan Macmillan Australia
The Indie Book Awards are proudly coordinated by Leading Edge Retail.