The 2021 ABIAs shortlist is here!

by |April 12, 2021
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The 2021 shortlist includes some of the biggest names in the Australian book industry (which publishes over 7,000 new books annually) and this year’s list is a top-shelf showcase of high profile authors and amazing new talent. The shortlist finalises the titles, publishers and authors in the running for the 2020 ABIAs. And what a list it is! Check it out below.


Audiobook of the Year

  • Tell Me WhyArchie Roach; narrated by Archie Roach (Sound Kitchen, Simon & Schuster Australia, Simon & Schuster Australia)
  • The Happiest Man on Earth, Eddie Jaku; narrated by Jacek Koman (Macmillan Australia Audio, Pan Macmillan Australia)               
  • Phosphorescence: On awe, wonder & things that sustain you when the world goes dark, Julia Baird; narrated by Julia Baird (Bolinda, HarperAudio, HarperCollins Publishers)
  • MammothChris Flynn; narrated by Rupert Degas (Wavesound, Wavesound)
  • Honeybee, Craig Silvey; narrated by Harvey Zielinsky (Wavesound/Allen & Unwin, Wavesound/Allen & Unwin)

Biography Book of the Year

  • A Bigger Picture, Malcolm Turnbull (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
  • Boy on Fire: The Young Nick CaveMark Mordue (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)
  • Paul Kelly, Stuart Coupe (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Hachette Australia)
  • The Happiest Man on Earth, Eddie Jaku (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)
  • Truganini, Cassandra Pybus (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)

Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)

  • Aurora Burning: The Aurora Cycle 2, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
  • Future Girl, Asphyxia (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
  • Jane Doe and the Key of All Souls, Jeremy Lachlan (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
  • Please Don’t Hug Me, Kay Kerr (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
  • The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)

Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7-12)

  • Finding Our Heart, Thomas Mayor; Illustrated by Blak Douglas (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Travel)
  • Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow, Jessica Townsend (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Lothian Children’s Books)
  • The Grandest Bookshop in the World, Amelia Mellor (Affirm Press, Affirm Press)
  • The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals, Sami Bayly (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Lothian Children’s Books)
  • Took The Children Away, Archie Roach; Illustrated by Ruby Hunter (Simon & Schuster Australia)

Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0-6)

  • Bluey: The Creek, Bluey (Penguin Random House, Puffin)
  • Our Home, Our Heartbeat, Adam Briggs, Kate Moon and Rachael Sarra (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, Little Hare)
  • Sing Me the Summer, Jane Godwin and Alison Lester (Affirm Press, Affirm Press)
  • When We Say Black Lives Matter, Maxine Beneba Clarke (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Lothian Children’s Books)
  • Windows, Jonathan Bentley and Patrick Guest (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, Little Hare)

General Fiction Book of the Year

  • The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams (Affirm Press, Affirm Press)
  • The Godmothers, Monica McInerney (Penguin Random House, Michael Joseph)
  • The Good Turn, Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
  • The Morbids, Ewa Ramsey (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
  • The Survivors, Jane Harper (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)

General Non-fiction Book of the Year

  • Phosphorescence: On awe, wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark, Julia Baird (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)
  • The Golden Maze: A biography of Prague, Richard Fidler (HarperCollins Publishers, ABC Books)
  • The Space Between, Michelle Andrews and Zara McDonald (Penguin Random House, Viking)
  • Un-cook Yourself: A Ratbag’s Rules for LifeNat’s What I Reckon (Penguin Random House, Ebury Australia)
  • Women and Leadership, Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Penguin Random House, Vintage Australia)

Illustrated Book of the Year

  • A Year of Simple Family Food, Julia Busuttil Nishimura (Pan Macmillan Australia, Plum)
  • Beatrix Bakes, Natalie Paull (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
  • In Praise of Veg, Alice Zaslavsky (Allen & Unwin, Murdoch Books)
  • Loving Country, Bruce Pascoe and Vicky Shukuroglou (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Travel)
  • Plantopedia, Lauren Camilleri and Sophia Kaplan (Smith Street Books, Smith Street Books)

International Book of the Year

  • A Promised Land, Barack Obama (Penguin Random House, Viking)
  • Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Headline)
  • Ottolenghi FLAVOUR, Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage (Penguin Random House, Ebury Press)
  • Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid (Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury Circus)
  • Women Don’t Owe You Pretty, Florence Given (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Cassell)

Literary Fiction Book of the Year

  • A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing, Jessie Tu (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
  • A Room Made of Leaves, Kate Grenville (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
  • All Our Shimmering Skies, Trent Dalton (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)
  • Honeybee, Craig Silvey (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
  • Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)

Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year

  • Glimpses of Utopia: Real ideas for a fairer world, Jess Scully (Pantera Press, Pantera Press)
  • Living on Stolen Land, Ambelin Kwaymullina (Magabala Books)
  • Stone Sky Gold Mountain, Mirandi Riwoe (University of Queensland Press, UQP)
  • The Animals in That Country, Laura Jean McKay (Scribe Publications, Scribe Publications)
  • The Rain Heron, Robbie Arnott (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)

Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year

  • Bindi, Kirli Saunders; Illustrated by Dub Leffler (Magabala Books)
  • Family, Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson; Illustrated by Jasmine Seymour (Magabala Books)
  • Found, Bruce Pascoe and Charmaine Ledden-Lewis (Magabala Books)
  • Metal Fish, Falling Snow, Cath Moore (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
  • My Shadow is Pink, Scott Stuart (Larrikin House Publishing, Larrikin House)

The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year

  • A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing, Jessie Tu (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
  • Lucky’s, Andrew Pippos (Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador Australia)
  • Song of the Crocodile, Nardi Simpson (Hachette Australia Pty Ltd, Hachette Australia)
  • The Coconut Children, Vivian Pham (Penguin Random House, Vintage Australia)
  • The Morbids, Ewa Ramsey (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)

Congratulations to all of the authors on the 2021 ABIAs shortlist!

Find out more about the Australian Book Industry Awards here.

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