The Australian Book Industry Awards Academy has announced the ABIA Book shortlists for 2020, and the winners of the Rising Star and Hall of Fame Awards.
Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors, illustrators, narrators, and publishers.
General fiction book of the year
- Bruny by Heather Rose
- Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris
- Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham
- Silver by Chris Hammer
- The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan
Literary fiction book of the year
- Damascus by Christos Tsiolkas
- The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
- The Yield by Tara June Winch
- There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett
- Wolfe Island by Lucy Treloar
General nonfiction book of the year
- Against All Odds by Craig Challen & Richard Harris, with Ellis Henican
- Banking Bad by Adele Ferguson
- Fake by Stephanie Wood
- Kitty Flanagan’s 488 Rules for Life by Kitty Flanagan
- See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill
Biography book of the year
- Jack Charles: Born-again Blakfella by Jack Charles
- Tell Me Why by Archie Roach
- The Prettiest Horse In The Glue Factory by Corey White
- When All is Said & Done by Neale Daniher, with Warwick Green
- Your Own Kind of Girl by Clare Bowditch
Book of the year for older children (ages 13+)
- Detention by Tristan Bancks
- It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
- The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
- Welcome to Country: Youth Edition by Marcia Langton
- Welcome To Your Period by Yumi Stynes & Dr Melissa Kang
Book of the year for younger children (ages 7-13)
- Funny Bones edited by Kate Temple, Jol Temple & Oliver Phommavanh
- Real Pigeons Nest Hard by Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood
- The 117-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton
- The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals Sami Bayly
- Young Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
Children’s picture book of the year (ages 0-6)
- All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors by Davina Bell & Jenny Løvlie
- Bluey: The Beach
- Mr Chicken All Over Australia by Leigh Hobbs
- The Tiny Star by Mem Fox & Freya Blackwood
- Wilam by Andrew Kelly, Aunty Joy Murphy & Lisa Kennedy
Illustrated book of the year
- Three Birds Renovations by Erin Cayless, Bonnie Hindmarsh & Lana Taylor
-
Ben Quilty by Ben Quilty
- The Lost Boys by Paul Byrnes
- The Whole Fish Cookbook by Josh Niland
- Australia Modern by Hannah Lewi & Philip Goad
International book of the year
- Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
- The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
- The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
- Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Small publishers’ adult book of the year
- Feeding the Birds at Your Table by Darryl Jones
- Kindred by Kirli Saunders
- Paris Savages by Katherine Johnson
-
Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta
- The White Girl by Tony Birch
Small publishers’ children’s book of the year
- Little Bird’s Day by Sally Morgan & Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr
- Love Your Body by Jessica Sanders & Carol Rossetti
- Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street by Felicita Sala
- Sick Bay by Nova Weetman
- You Can Change the World by Lucy Bell
The Matt Richell award for new writer of the year
- Being Black ‘n Chicken, and Chips by Matt Okine
- Call Me Evie by J.P. Pomare
- It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
-
Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta
- Your Own Kind of Girl by Clare Bowditch
The Audiobook of the year
- Fake by Stephanie Wood, narrated by Claudia Karvan
- No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani, narrated by full cast
- The Resilience Project by Hugh Van Cuylenburg, narrated by Hugh Van Cuylenburg
- The Yield by Tara June Winch, narrated by Tony Briggs
- Your Own Kind of Girl by Clare Bowditch, narrated by Clare Bowditch
The winner of the 2020 Rising Star Award is Hazel Lam from Harper Collins. Two Hall of Fame Awards were announced: Helen Garner as the recipient of the Lloyd O’Neil Award for outstanding contribution to the industry, and Erica Wagner as the recipient of the Pixie O’Harris Award for consistent contribution to Children’s Literature.
We are also thrilled that Readings has been shortlisted for Book Retailer of the Year and that our Carlton shop has been shortlisted for Bookshop of the Year. See the full shortlists for these categories here.
