Announcing the ABIAs 2020 Longlist
The Australian Publishers Association presents the longlist for the 2020 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs). The longlist introduces the titles, publishers and authors in the running for the 2020 ABIAs.
The ABIA Academy — a group of more than 250 publishers, booksellers, agents, media and industry representatives — have selected and voted for books published in 2019 across 12 categories.
The ABIAs showcase the collaborative efforts of publishers, editors, illustrators, marketers, designers, and authors in bringing quality books to Australia and abroad. It’s also a great opportunity to celebrate what we’ve done as an industry — and the joys of bringing books into the world.
A shortlist will be released on Thursday 9 April, with winners announced at the publishing industry’s night of nights on Wednesday 29 April.
The usually red carpeted event will be held at Sydney’s International Convention Centre and hosted by writer, musician and radio broadcaster, Casey Bennetto, back by popular demand and complete with three piece band. Claire Bowditch will be doing a special performance on the night, and we may be rolling out the blue carpet for a secret special guest.
Download social media images here.
The 2020 ABIA Longlist
Biography Book of The Year
Australia Day, Stan Grant (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
Born-Again Blakfella, Jack Charles (Penguin Random House Australia, Viking)
Gulpilil, Derek Rielly (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)
Penny Wong: Passion and Principle, Margaret Simons (Black Inc., Black Inc.)
Tell Me Why, Archie Roach (Simon & Schuster Australia, Simon & Schuster)
The Prettiest Horse In The Glue Factory, Corey White (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
When All is Said & Done, Neale Daniher, with Warwick Green (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)
Your Own Kind of Girl, Clare Bowditch (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)
Detention, Tristan Bancks (Penguin Random House Australia, Puffin)
How It Feels to Float, Helena Fox (Pan Macmillan Australia, Pan Australia)
It Sounded Better in My Head, Nina Kenwood (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories, Michael Earp et al (Walker Books Australia, Walker Books Australia)
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling, Wai Chim (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
This Is How We Change the Ending, Vikki Wakefield (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Welcome to Country Youth Edition, Marcia Langton (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Travel)
Welcome To Your Period, Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7-12)
Explore Your World: Weird, Wild, Amazing!, Tim Flannery (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
Funny Bones, Edited by Kate Temple, Jol Temple and Oliver Phommavanh (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
How to Make a Movie in 12 Days, Fiona Hardy (Affirm Press, Affirm Press)
Real Pigeons Nest Hard, Written by Andrew McDonald , Illustrated by Ben Wood (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
The 117-Storey Treehouse, Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (Pan Macmillan Australia, Pan Australia)
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals, Sami Bayly (Hachette Australia, Lothian Children’s Books)
Under the Stars, Lisa Harvey-Smith, Mel Matthews (illustrator) (Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne University Press)
Young Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0-6)
All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors, Davina Bell and Jenny Løvlie (Hardie Grant Egmont, Little Hare)
Bluey: The Beach, Ludo Studio, BBC Studios and Penguin Random House Australia (Penguin Random House Australia and Puffin)
Kindness Makes Us Strong, Sophie Beer (Hardie Grant Egmont, Little Hare)
Lottie and Walter, Anna Walker (Penguin Random House Australia, Puffin)
Mr Chicken All Over Australia, Leigh Hobbs (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
The Painted Ponies, Alison Lester (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
The Tiny Star, Mem Fox and Freya Blackwood (Penguin Random House Australia, Puffin)
Tilly, Jane Godwin and Anna Walker (Scholastic Australia, Scholastic Press)
Wilam, Andrew Kelly, Aunty Joy Murphy, Lisa Kennedy (Walker Books Australia, Black Dog Books)
General Fiction Book of the Year
Bruny, Heather Rose (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
Call Me Evie, J.P. Pomare (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
Cilka’s Journey, Heather Morris (Echo Publishing, Echo Publishing)
Good Girl, Bad Girl, Michael Robotham (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
Peace, Garry Disher (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Silver, Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
The Scholar, Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
The Wife and the Widow, Christian White (Affirm Press, Affirm Press)
General Non-fiction Book of the Year
Accidental Feminists, Jane Caro (Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne University Press)
Against All Odds, Craig Challen and Richard Harris (Penguin Random House Australia, Viking)
Banking Bad, Adele Ferguson (HarperCollins Publishers, ABC Books)
Fake, Stephanie Wood (Penguin Random House Australia, Vintage Australia)
Kitty Flanagan’s 488 Rules for Life, Kitty Flanagan (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse, Jess Hill (Black Inc., Black Inc.)
The Yellow Notebook: Diaries Volume I 1978, Helen Garner (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Troll Hunting, Ginger Gorman, (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
Illustrated Book of the Year
Australia Modern: Architecture, Landscape & Design 1925–1975, Hannah Lewi and Philip Goad (Thames & Hudson Australia, Thames & Hudson Australia)
Ben Quilty, Ben Quilty (Penguin Random House Australia, Lantern Australia)
Finding the Heart of the Nation, Thomas Mayor (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Travel)
Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia: Second Edition, Bill Arthur and Frances Morphy (eds.) (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macquarie Dictionary Publishers)
Olive Cotton, Helen Ennis (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)
Step into Paradise, Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson (Thames & Hudson Australia and MAAS Media, Thames & Hudson Australia)
The Lost Boys: The untold stories of the under-age soldiers who fought in the First World War, Paul Byrnes (Affirm Press, Affirm Press)
The Whole Fish Cookbook, Josh Niland (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
Three Birds Renovations, Erin Cayless, Bonnie Hindmarsh and Lana Taylor (Murdoch Books, Murdoch Books)
International Book of the Year
Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow (Hachette Australia, Fleet)
Fleishman is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Hachette Australia, Wildfire)
Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
Lanny, Max Porter (Faber, Faber)
The Dutch House, Ann Patchett, (Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury Publishing)
The Testaments, Margaret Atwood (Penguin Random House Australia, Chatto & Windus)
Three Women, Lisa Taddeo (Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury Circus)
Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens (Hachette Australia, Corsair)
Literary Fiction Book of the Year
Damascus, Christos Tsiolkas (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
Exploded View, Carrie Tiffany (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Room for a Stranger, Melanie Cheng (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
The Drover’s Wife, Leah Purcell (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
The Weekend, Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
The Yield, Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
There Was Still Love, Favel Parrett (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador Australia)
Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year
Cosmic Chronicles, Fred Watson (NewSouth Publishing, NewSouth)
Feeding the Birds at Your Table: A guide for Australia, Darryl Jones (NewSouth Publishing NewSouth)
Invented Lives, Andrea Goldsmith (Scribe Publications, Scribe Publications)
Kindred, Kirli Saunders (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Paris Savages, Katherine Johnson (Ventura Press, Ventura Press)
Sand Talk, Tyson Yunkaporta (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Split, Lee Kofman (Ventura Press, Ventura Press)
The White Girl, Tony Birch (University of Queensland Press, University of Queensland Press)
Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year
Baby Business, Jasmine Seymour (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Cooee Mittigar, Written by Jasmine Seymour, Illustrated by Leanne Mulgo Watson (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Little Bird’s Day, Written by Sally Morgan, Illustrated by Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Love Your Body, Written by Jessica Sanders, Illustrated by Carol Rossetti (Five Mile, Five Mile)
Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street, Felicita Sala (Scribe Publications, Scribble)
Sick Bay, Nova Weetman (University of Queensland Press, University of Queensland Press)
Summer Time, Hilary Bell and Antonia Pesenti (NewSouth Publishing, NewSouth)
You Can Change the World: The Kids’ Guide to a Better Planet, Lucy Bell (Pantera Press, Pantera Press)
The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year
Being Black ‘n Chicken, and Chips, Matt Okine (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
Call Me Evie, J.P. Pomare (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
It Sounded Better in My Head, Nina Kenwood (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Sand Talk, Tyson Yunkaporta (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
The Prettiest Horse In The Glue Factory, Corey White (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
The Whole Fish Cookbook, Josh Niland (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
Troll Hunting, Ginger Gorman (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
Your Own Kind of Girl, Clare Bowditch (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)