The Australian Book Industry Awards Academy has announced the ABIA Book shortlists for 2019.
Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators, narrators, and publishers.
General fiction book of the year
- Scrublands by Chris Hammer
- The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
- The Nowhere Child by Christian White
- The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Literary fiction book of the year
- Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
- Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
- Shell by Kristina Olsson
- The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton
- Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
General nonfiction book of the year
- Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales
- Boys Will Be Boys by Clementine Ford
- Dear Santa edited by Samuel Johnson
- No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani, translated by Omid Tofighian
- Welcome to Country: A Travel Guide to Indigenous Australia by Marcia Langton
Biography book of the year
- Back, After the Break by Osher Günsberg
- Challenge Accepted! by Celeste Barber
- Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
- Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography by Jonathan Thurston
- Teacher by Gabbie Stroud
Book of the year for older children (ages 13+)
- Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough
- Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina
- Hive by A.J. Betts
- Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Worlds by Jeremy Lachlan
- Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein
Book of the year for younger children (ages 7-13)
- Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee
- Real Pigeons Fight Crime by Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood
- The 104-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton
- The Bad Guys Episode 7: Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?! by Aaron Blabey
- Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Children’s picture book of the year (ages 0-6)
- All the Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell & Alison Colpoys
- Cicada by Shaun Tan
- Claris: The Chicest Mouse in Paris by Megan Hess
- Macca the Alpaca by Matt Cosgrove
- Pig the Grub by Aaron Blabey
Illustrated book of the year
- A Painted Landscape: Across Australia from Bush to Coast by Amber Creswell Bell
- Family: New Vegetable Classics to Comfort and Nourish by Hetty McKinnon
- Mirka & Georges by Lesley Harding & Kendrah Morgan
- Special Guest by Annabel Crabb & Wendy Sharpe
- The Cook’s Apprentice by Stephanie Alexander
International book of the year
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- Less by Andrew Sean Greer
- Lost Connections by Johann Hari
- Ottolenghi SIMPLE by Yotam Ottolenghi
Small publishers’ adult book of the year
- A Superior Spectre by Angela Meyer
- Blakwork by Alison Whittaker
- Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia edited by Anita Heiss
- The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman
- The Geography of Friendship by Sally Piper
Small publishers’ children’s book of the year
- Black Cockatoo by Carl Merrison & Hakea Hustler
- I Had Such Friends by Meg Gatland-Veness
- Rhyme Cordial by Antonia Pesenti
- The Extremely Weird Thing that Happened in Huggabie Falls by Adam Cece
- Whisper by Lynette Noni
The Matt Richell award for new writer of the year
- Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
- The Nowhere Child by Christian White
- Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
- The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
The Audiobook of the year
-
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton, narrated by Stig Weymss
- Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia edited by Anita Heiss, narrated by Gregory J Fryer, Tamala Shelton, Lisa Maza, Tony Briggs, Hunter Page-Lochard, Shari Sebbens
- The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton, narrated by Joanne Froggatt
- The Lost Man by Jane Harper, narrated by Steve Shanahan
- The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein, narrated by Rachael Tidd
The Rising Star of the year
- Alice Wood (Campaign Manager, HarperCollins)
- Catriona Murdie (Senior Editor – Young Readers, Penguin Random House)
- Ella Chapman (Head of Marketing Communications, Hachette)
- Mark Campbell (Head of Design, HarperCollins)
- Sam Cooney (Publisher, Brow Books)
