The 2018 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) were announced late last week at a gala dinner at the Sydney International Convention Centre, hosted by ABC TV’s Ben Jenkins and Zoe Norton-Lodge. Known as the Oscars for books, the awards are judged by an academy of over 250 respected publishing industry figures, and celebrate the very best of Australian writing, publishing and bookselling.
Thirty-three-year-old publishing sensation Jessica Townsend was the big winner of the night for her international smash hit debut “Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow” (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia). “Nevermoor” picked up three awards including the major award of the night, The Gold ABIA for the Book of the Year, along with the Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year and Book of the Year for Younger Readers. It has been an incredible year for Jessica with the book hitting bestseller lists all over the world and 20th Century Fox snapping up the film rights.
For the second year in a row, the Biography Book of the Year was awarded to music legend Jimmy Barnes for the second instalment of his bestselling autobiography, “Working Class Man” (HarperCollins), with sales of over 160,000 copies.
Jimmy Barnes with his ABIA
Michael Robotham, four times the bridesmaid, was finally awarded General Fiction Book of the Year for his psychological thriller, “The Secrets She Keeps” (Hachette, Hachette Australia).
Literary Fiction of the Year was awarded to Sarah Schmidt’s re-imagining of the Lizzie Borden murders, “See What I Have Done” (Hachette, Hachette Australia), and the General Non-Fiction Book of the Year was awarded to “The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster”, by Sarah Krasnostein (Text Publishing, Text Publishing).
Em Rusciano at the ABIAs
Recipients of the industry business awards were HarperCollins Publishers (Publisher of the Year), Thames & Hudson (Small Publisher of the Year), Dymocks (National Retailer of the Year), Shalini Kunahlan (Rising Star of the Year) and Readings, who once again took out the Independent Retailer of the Year.
Michael Gordon-Smith, CEO of the Australian Publishers Association, said, “If the ABIAs are a bit like a harvest festival, this year’s crop is a bumper. The shortlisted books were excellent examples of the creativity, intelligence and passion of the industry. So too were the finalists for our new Rising Star Award. Congratulations to the winners. They’re outstanding.”
Peter Helliar at the ABIAs
Australia Book Industry Award Winners 2018
Gold ABIA for Book of the Year
“Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow”, Jessica Townsend (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia)
Biography Book of the Year
“Working Class Man”, Jimmy Barnes (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
General Fiction Book of the Year
“The Secrets She Keeps”, Michael Robotham (Hachette, Hachette Australia)
General Non-fiction Book of the Year
“The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster”, Sarah Krasnostein (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Literary Fiction Book of the Year
“See What I Have Done”, Sarah Schmidt (Hachette, Hachette Australia)
Illustrated Book of the Year
“Maggie’s Recipe for Life”, Maggie Beer and Professor Ralph Martins (A Julie Gibbs Book for Simon & Schuster Australia, Simon & Schuster Australia)
International Book of the Year
“Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls”, Elena Favilli and Francesa Cavallo (Particular Books -UK Juvenile, Penguin Random House Australia)
Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year
“The Australian Bird Guide”, Peter Menkhorst, Danny Rogers, Rohan Clarke, Jeff Davies, Peter Marsack and Kim Franklin (CSIRO Publishing, CSIRO Publishing)
Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year
“It’s OK to Feel the Way You Do”, Josh Langley (Big Sky Publishing, Big Sky Publishing)
The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year
“Nevermoor”, Jessica Townsend (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia)
Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)
“Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology”, Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7-13)
“Nevermoor”, Jessica Townsend (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia)
Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0-6)
“No One Likes a Fart”, Zoë Foster Blake (Viking – AU YR, Penguin Random House Australia)
Audiobook of the Year
“The 91-Storey Treehouse”, Written & Illustrated by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton. Narrated by Stig Weymss (Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd)
The Lloyd O’Neill Award for Services to the Australian Book Industry
Suzy Wilson
The Pixie O’Harris Award for Outstanding Commitment to Children’s Literature
Jane Covernton
2018 Business Award Winners
Publisher of the Year: HarperCollins Publishers
Small Publisher of the Year: Thames & Hudson Australia
National Retailer: Dymocks
Independent Retailer: Readings
Rising Star of the Year: Shalini Kunahlan (Marketing Manager, Text Publishing)