Nat’s What I Reckon is the 2020 FAB Award winner!

The votes for the 2020 FAB Award have been cast and counted and we finally have a winner: Un-cook Yourself: A Ratbag’s Rules for Life by Sydney author Nat’s What I Reckon!

The lockdown cooking sensation famous for his hilarious anti-jar sauce tirades, as well as his advocacy for mental health, will take home $5,000 in prize money. Published by Penguin Random House Australia, Nat’s book is a self-help guide with a difference, written in his signature voice and accompanied by a few of his easy and delicious recipes.

A record-setting 157,000 Aussie readers voted in the 2020 FAB Award across both rounds, picking their favourites from a list of 127 books that included Trent Dalton’s novel All Our Shimmering Skies, Adam Briggs’ picture book Our Home, Our Heartbeat and more.

Nat was absolutely thrilled with his win. ‘I can’t actually believe I fucken [sic] won this award, I barely ever even win the meat tray at the pub,’ he said.

‘I feel totally humbled and honoured that so many people would support me and give my book a red hot go. Thanks, ya bloody champions.’

Nat has said on social media that he intends to donate his full winnings to a mental health charity.

For those of you who are curious, here’s the 2020 FAB Award Top Ten (look out for the Top 50 books list tomorrow!):

1. Uncook Yourself: A Ratbag’s Guide to Life by Nat’s What I Reckon, published by Penguin Random House Australia
2. The Loudness of Unsaid Things by Hilde Hinton, published by Hachette
3. The Two Lost Mountains by Matthew Reilly, published by Pan Macmillan
4. Bluey: Grannies, published by Penguin Random House Australia
5. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, published by Affirm
6. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku, published by Pan Macmillan
7. Our Home, Our Heartbeat by Adam Briggs, illustrated by Kate Moon & Rachael Sarra, published by Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
8. The Survivors by Jane Harper, published by Pan Macmillan
9. Help Self by Tanya Hennessy, published by Allen & Unwin
10. All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton, published by HarperCollins

The Favourite Australian Book Award was begun in 2019 with the aim of shining a spotlight on all of the amazing books published by Aussie writers each year. To be eligible, a book must have been written by an Australian author and published in the previous year. The 2019 winner was another rule book of sorts; 488 Rules for Life by comedian Kitty Flanagan, a parodic take on the bestselling book 12 Rules for Life.

Congratulations to our 2020 FAB Award winner, Nat’s What I Reckon!

Find out more about the Favourite Australian Book Award here.

Un-cook Yourself

A Ratbag's Rules for Life

by Nat's What I Reckon

Nat's What I Reckon was the tattooed lockdown saviour we didn't know we needed, rescuing us from packet food, jar sauce and total boredom with his hilarious viral recipe videos that got us cooking at home like champions again.

Now that we've cooked our way out of lockdown and are wondering what the hell to do next, our favourite ratbag is back - and he's ready to teach us more about life in this thoroughly unhelpful (but maybe actually kinda helpful?) self-help guide...

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Olivia Fricot

Olivia Fricot (she/her) is Booktopia's Senior Content Producer and editor of the Booktopian blog. She has too many plants and not enough bookshelves, and you can usually find her reading, baking, or talking to said plants. She is pro-Oxford comma.

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