The ABIA Book shortlists 2018
The Australian Book Industry Awards Academy has announced the ABIA Book shortlists for 2018.
Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators, narrators, and publishers.
General fiction book of the year
- Force of Nature by Jane Harper
- The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey
- The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green
- The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham
- The Trip of a Lifetime by Monica McInerney
Literary fiction book of the year
- A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
- First Person by Richard Flanagan
- See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
- The Choke by Sofie Laguna
- Wimmera by Mark Brandi
General nonfiction book of the year
- Being 14 by Madonna King
- Depends What You Mean By Extremist by John Safran
- First, We Make The Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson
- Saga Land by Richard Fidler & Kári Gíslason
- The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
Biography book of the year
- Danger Music by Eddie Ayres
- Tracker by Alexis Wright
- Unbreakable by Jelena Dokic with Jessica Halloran
- Unmasked by Turia Pitt
- Working Class Man by Jimmy Barnes
Book of the year for older children (ages 13+)
- Beautiful Mess by Claire Christian
- Begin, End, Begin edited by Danielle Binks
- My Life as a Hashtag by Gabrielle Williams
- Tales From a Tall Forest by Shaun Micallef & Jonathan Bentley
- The Silent Invasion by James Bradley
Book of the year for younger children (ages 7-13)
- Frankie Fish and the Sonic Suitcase by Peter Helliar & Lesley Vamos
- Funny Kid for President by Matt Stanton
- Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
- Polly and Buster: The Wayward Witch and the Feelings Monster by Sally Rippin
- The 91-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton
Children’s picture book of the year (ages 0-6)
- Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak & Julian Frost
- Florette by Anna Walker
- I’m Australian Too by Mem Fox & Ronojoy Ghosh
- No One Likes a Fart by Zoë Foster Blake & Adam Nickel
- Pig the Star by Aaron Blabey
Illustrated book of the year
- Basics to Brilliance Kids by Donna Hay
- Maggie’s Recipe for Life by Maggie Beer & Professor Ralph Martin
- Native: Art and Design with Australian Plants by Kate Herd & Jela Ivankovic-Waters
- Ostro by Julia Busuttil Nishimura
- Paris: Through a Fashion Eye by Megan Hess
International book of the year
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesa Cavallo
- Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
- La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust Book 1) by Philip Pullman
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Small publishers’ adult book of the year
- Call of the Reed Warbler by Charles Massy
- Cardinal by Louise Milligan
- The Australian Bird Guide by Peter Menkhorst, Danny Rogers, Rohan Clarke, Jeff Davies, Peter Marsack & Kim Franklin
- The Restorer by Michael Sala
- The Museum of Words by Georgia Blain
Small publishers’ children’s book of the year
- Big Fella Rain by Beryl Webber & Fern Martins
- Hello, Melbourne! by Megan McKean
- It’s OK to Feel the Way You Do by Josh Langley
- The Elephant by Peter Carnavas
- Under the Love Umbrella by Davina Bell & Allison Colpoys
The Matt Richell award for new writer of the year
- Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
- Terra Nullius by Claire G Coleman
- The Girl from Munich by Tania Blanchard
- The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
- Wimmera by Mark Brandi
The Audiobook of the year
- The Attachment written & narrated by Ailsa Piper & Tony Doherty
- Try Hard written & narrated by Em Rusciano
- Marge and the Great Train Rescue written & narrated by Isla Fisher
- Working Class Boy written & narrated by Jimmy Barnes
- The 91-Storey Treehouse written & illustrated by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, narrated by Stig Weymss
The Rising Star of the year
- Ali Hammond (Category Manager, Dymocks Booksellers)
- Cate Blake (Commissioning Editor, Penguin Random House)
- Lex Hirst (Commissioning Editor, Penguin Random House)
- Patrizia Di Biase-Dyson (Publicity Manager, Allen & Unwin)
- Shalini Kunahlan (Marketing Manager, Text Publishing)
