ABIA 2025 shortlists announced

Books+Publishing, in partnership with the Australian Publishers Association, has announced the 2025 shortlists for the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs).

The shortlisted titles in each category are:

Audiobook of the Year

• Here One Moment (Liane Moriarty, narrated by Geraldine Hakewill & Caroline Lee, Macmillan Australia Audio), produced by Macmillan Australia Audio
• Human? A Lie That’s Been Killing Us Since 1788 (Ziggy Ramo, narrated by Ziggy Ramo, Bolinda Audio), produced by Bolinda Audio
• Juice (Tim Winton, narrated by David Field, Penguin AU Audio Adult), produced by Sound Kitchen
• Sounds Like You (Alyce Adams, narrated by Georgia McCudden & Oliver Mills, Audible Studios, Audible Australia), produced by Radhiah Chowdhury/Audible, Sound Kitchen Studio
• The Voice Inside (John Farnham with Poppy Stockell, narrated by John Farnham, Jill Farnham & Gaynor Wheatley, Squaresound), produced by Squaresound
• We Are the Stars (Gina Chick, narrated by Gina Chick, Wavesound), produced by Wavesound

Biography Book of the Year

• Brainstorm (Richard Scolyer with Garry Maddox, A&U)
• A Periodic Tale (Karl Kruszelnicki, ABC Books)
• Sister Viv (Grantlee Kieza, ABC Books)
• The Voice Inside (John Farnham with Poppy Stockell, Hachette)
• We Are the Stars (Gina Chick, Summit)
• The Whole Truth (Jackie O, Penguin)

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

• Anomaly (Emma Lord, Affirm)
• Comes the Night (Isobelle Carmody, A&U)
• Eleanor Jones Can’t Keep a Secret (Amy Doak, Penguin)
• The Girl with No Reflection (Keshe Chow, Penguin)
• Immortal Dark (Tigest Girma, Lothian)
• My Family and Other Suspects (Kate Emery, A&U)

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

• The 113th Assistant Librarian (Stuart Wilson, Penguin)
• All the Beautiful Things (Katrina Nannestad, ABC Kids)
• Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria (LM Wilkinson, illus by Lavanya Naidu, Albert Street)
• The Lost Book of Magic (Amelia Mellor, Affirm)
• The Midwatch (Judith Rossell, HGCP)
• Wurrtoo (Tylissa Elisara, illus by Dylan Finney, Lothian)

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

• The Cheeky Toddler Alphabet (Davina Bell, illus by Jennifer Falkner, Lothian)
• Fairy Beach (Sheila Knaggs, illus by Jennifer Falkner, Affirm)
• Over or Under? (Pip Harry, illus by Hilary Jean Tapper, Lothian)
• To Stir with Love (Kate Mildenhall, illus by Jess Racklyeft, S&S)
• The Truck Cat (Deborah Frenkel, illus by Danny Snell, Bright Light)
• Yanga Mother (Cheryl Leavy, illus by Christopher Bassi, UQP)

General Fiction Book of the Year

• The Ledge (Christian White, Affirm)
• Red River Road (Anna Downes, Affirm)
• Storm Child (Michael Robotham, Hachette)
• The Valley (Chris Hammer, A&U)
• The Venice Hotel (Tess Woods, Penguin)
• What Happened to Nina? (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins)

General Nonfiction Book of the Year

• Always Was, Always Will Be (Thomas Mayo, Hardie Grant Explore)
• The Chairman’s Lounge (Joe Aston, Scribner)
• The Forever War (Nick Bryant, Viking)
• Taboo (Hannah Ferguson, Affirm)
• Ten Things I Wish You Knew About Your Child’s Mental Health (Billy Garvey, Penguin Life)
• Three Wild Dogs (Markus Zusak, Picador)
• Uses for Obsession (Ben Shewry, Murdoch)

Illustrated Book of the Year

• Baby Food Bible (Julia Tellidis & Lauren Skora, Hardie Grant)
• Bake with Brooki (Brooke Bellamy, Penguin)
• Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice (Natalie Paull, Hardie Grant)
• RecipeTin Eats: Tonight (Nagi Maehashi, Macmillan)
• Salad for Days (Alice Zaslavsky, Murdoch)
• You Don’t Have to Have a Dream (Tim Minchin, Penguin)

International Book of the Year

• Butter (Asako Yuzuki, Fourth Estate)
• House of Flame and Shadow (Sarah J Maas, Bloomsbury)
• Intermezzo (Sally Rooney, Faber)
• The Ministry of Time (Kaliane Bradley, Sceptre)
• We Solve Murders (Richard Osman, Viking)
• The Women (Kristin Hannah, Macmillan)

Literary Fiction Book of the Year

• Cherrywood (Jock Serong, Fourth Estate)
• Dusk (Robbie Arnott, Picador)
• Highway 13 (Fiona McFarlane, A&U)
• Juice (Tim Winton, Hamish Hamilton)
• Rapture (Emily Maguire, A&U)
• The Work (Bri Lee, A&U)

Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year

• All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot (Lucinda Price, Pantera)
• Australian Gospel: A Family Saga (Lech Blaine, Black Inc.)
• The Burrow (Melanie Cheng, Text)
• Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy (Clare Wright, Text)
• Sanctuary (Garry Disher, Text)
• The Season (Helen Garner, Text)

Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year

• Always Was, Always Will Be (Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson, Magabala)
• Dog Beach (Julie Murphy, illus by Annie White, NLA Publishing)
• Flora: Australia’s Most Curious Plants (Tania McCartney, NLA Publishing)
• Leo and Ralph (Peter Carnavas, UQP)
• Spiro (Anna McGregor, Scribble)
• Super Snake (Gregg Dreise, Magabala)

Social Impact Book of the Year

• Always Was, Always Will Be (Thomas Mayo, Hardie Grant Explore)
• Brainstorm (Richard Scolyer with Garry Maddox, A&U)
• Juice (Tim Winton, Hamish Hamilton)
• Mean Streak (Rick Morton, Fourth Estate)
• Murriyang (Stan Grant, Bundyi)
• My Dad’s Gone Away (Andrew Krakouer & Jacqueline Dinan, illus by Paul Seden, Magabala)

The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year (for an author’s first book, regardless of genre)

• All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot (Lucinda Price, Pantera)
• Because I’m Not Myself, You See (Ariane Beeston, Black Inc.)
• Big Time (Jordan Prosser, UQP)
• The Chairman’s Lounge (Joe Aston, Scribner)
• Thanks for Having Me (Emma Darragh, Joan)
• We Are the Stars (Gina Chick, Summit).

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the awards. The winner in each category, as well as the winner of the overall Book of the Year award, will be announced at an awards ceremony at Zinc Fed Square in Naarm/Melbourne on Wednesday 7 May.

Category: Awards Local news