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.
“We are excited to announce the Longlist for the Indie Book Awards 2022. Despite another turbulent year there has been a constant flow of excellent new Australian titles which independent booksellers continue to champion,” said Leanne Kadareanu, Head of Books at Leading Edge Retail, proud facilitator of the awards.
“Throughout, we have been amazed at the creative resilience of booksellers, never stopping what they do best – recommending the best books with heart and passion. This year’s Indie Book Awards Longlist celebrates booksellers’ favourite Australian titles of the last year.”
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: 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 Shortlist will be announced on 19 January 2022, with the Category Winners and the Overall Book of the Year Winner being announced at a virtual awards event on Monday 21 March 2022.
For more info on the Indie Book Awards, visit: www.indiebookawards.com.au for details.
Image: Jessica Ruscello on Unsplash
The 2022 Indie Book Awards Longlist is:
FICTION:
After Story by Larissa Behrendt (University of Queensland Press)
The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks (HQ Fiction, HarperCollins Australia)
Plum by Brendan Cowell (Fourth Estate Australia)
Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser (Allen & Unwin)
Treasure and Dirt by Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin)
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray/River of Dreams by Anita Heiss (Simon & Schuster Australia)
Devotion by Hannah Kent (Picador Australia)
Love Objects by Emily Maguire (Allen & Unwin)
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy (Hamish Hamilton Australia)
The Last Woman in the World by Inga Simpson (Hachette Australia)
NON-FICTION:
Whole Notes by Ed Ayres (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)
Love Stories by Trent Dalton (Fourth Estate Australia)
Who Gets to Be Smart by Bri Lee (Allen & Unwin)
Toxic: The Rotting Underbelly of the Tasmanian Salmon Industry by Richard Flanagan (Penguin Australia)
How We Love by Clementine Ford (Allen & Unwin)
Larrimah by Caroline Graham and Kylie Stevenson (Allen & Unwin)
The Brilliant Boy: Doc Evatt and the Great Australian Dissent by Gideon Haigh (Scribner Australia)
FunkyTown by Paul Kennedy (Affirm Press)
So You Think You Know What’s Good for You? by Dr Norman Swan (Hachette Australia)
My Adventurous Life by Dick Smith (Allen & Unwin)
DEBUT FICTION:
When Things Are Alive They Hum by Hannah Bent (Ultimo Press)
Happy Hour by Jacquie Byron (Allen & Unwin)
The Tribute by John Byron (Affirm Press)
The Curlew’s Eye by Karen Manton (Allen & Unwin)
We Were Not Men by Campbell Mattinson (HarperCollins Australia)
Permafrost by SJ Norman (University of Queensland Press)
The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou (Transit Lounge)
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (Tor)
Love & Virtue by Diana Reid (Ultimo Press)
The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart (Viking Australia)
ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION:
Where the River Bends by Jane and Jimmy Barnes (HarperCollins Australia)
Still Life by Amber Creswell Bell (Thames & Hudson Australia)
Garden Like a Nonno by Jaclyn Crupi (Affirm Press)
Costa’s World by Costa Georgiadis (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)
A Room of Her Own by Robyn Lea (Thames & Hudson Australia)
The Great Forest by David Lindenmayer, with photographs by Chris Taylor, Sarah Rees & Steven Kuiter (Allen & Unwin)
Old Vintage Melbourne by Chris Macheras (Scribe)
The Good Life by Hannah Moloney (Affirm Press)
Wild Mushrooming: A Guide for Foragers by Alison Pouliot & Tom May (CSIRO Publishing)
Country Dogs on Doorsteps by Suzanne Stevenson (Affirm Press)
CHILDREN’S:
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature by Sami Bayly (Lothian Children’s Books)
Tomorrow is a Brand-New Day by Davina Bell, illustrated by Allison Colpoys (Scribble)
The Boy and the Elephant by Freya Blackwood (HarperCollins Australia)
Walk of the Whales by Nick Bland (Little Hare)
The World’s Most Pointless Animals by Philip Bunting (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee (Allen & Unwin Children’s)
Somebody’s Land: Welcome to Our Country by Adam Goodes & Ellie Laing, illustrated by David Hardy (Allen & Unwin Children’s)
Down the Road, Little Bee by Sarah Jane Lightfoot (Affirm Press)
Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)
Wandi by Favel Parrett (Lothian Children’s Books)
YOUNG ADULT:
self/less by AViVA (Pan Australia)
The Monster of Her Age by Danielle Binks (Lothian Children’s Books)
100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze by Clayton Zane Comber (HarperCollins Australia)
The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough (Allen & Unwin Children’s)
Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin Children’s)
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni (Penguin Australia)
Dark Rise by C S Pacat (Allen & Unwin Children’s)
If Not Us by Mark Smith (Text Publishing)
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland (Penguin Australia)
Henry Hamlet’s Heart by Rhiannon Wilde (University of Queensland Press)