Australia’s independent booksellers have awarded the 2008 Indie Award to Tim Winton for his novel Breath. The $19,000 prize for the Best Australian Book of the past 12 months has been donated entirely by over 120 independent booksellers across the country, underlining their commitment to Australian books and writers.

Tim Winton said independent booksellers have supported him throughout his career: “I’m very pleased to have had the support of independent booksellers for the last 25 years and I've never felt that more vividly than this year. There are few countries in the world where a literary novel from a regional writer will be embraced so widely in the local book trade and fewer still where that novel can reach the widest possible audience with the aid of small, grass roots and independent bookshops.

People don't always realize that independent bookselling has become endangered elsewhere in the English-speaking world while here at home independents are a significant slice of the trade. Faced, as we are, with yet another blundering assault on the book industry, it's worth remembering that a vibrant book culture has flowered here despite immense geographical, logistical and historical challenges. Something so hard-won shouldn't be squandered.”

Tim Winton won the Indie Award from a shortlist of four titles in the categories of Fiction, Debut Fiction (Toni Jordan’s Addition), Non Fiction (Don Watson’s American Journeys) and Children’s Book (Shaun Tan’s Tales from Outer Suburbia). These four titles were shortlisted from over 100 titles submitted by Australian publishers in May 2008.

Tim said he was “honoured to have won the inaugural award and wanted to thank all those booksellers who still take books as personally as they take their business. We'd be buggered without you.”

The Indie Award has been managed by Leading Edge Books, a large group of independent bookstores with member stores across Australia, both metropolitan and regional, including many of Australia’s iconic independent bookshops. Leading Edge Books General Manager Chris Burgess says the award is designed to remind people of the key role of independent bookshops.

“Independent bookshops continue to retain their market share at over 20% of all books sold in Australia. This compares very favourably with under 10% in the UK and under 5% in the US. Independent bookstores hold a special place in the hearts of their customers as havens of enjoyment, stimulation and relaxation in an ever-busier world. We feel the launch of The Indie Award sees them take their rightful place in the spotlight as key supporters of Australian authors. Their incredible passion and knowledge of books makes them uniquely placed to judge and recommend the best Australian books of the past year to their customers and the general reading public.”