SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE INDIE AWARDS 2013

The Shortlist for the 2013 Australian Independent Bookseller Awards has been announced. Voted on by the independent booksellers of Australia, The Indie Awards have a proud tradition of picking the best of the best of Australian writing. All of the previous winners, (Breath by Tim Winton, Jasper Jones by Craig Sylvie, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do, All That I Am by Anna Funder) have gone on to win other major literary awards.

The sixteen shortlisted books will be vying for the top spot as the Indie ‘Book of the Year’ for 2013.  Panels of expert judges (all indie booksellers and avid readers) choose winners from four book categories – Fiction, Debut Fiction, Non-Fiction and Children’s.  Independent booksellers from around the country will then vote to select their favourite book for the year.  The category winners and the overall ‘Book of the Year’ winner will be announced on Monday, 25 March 2013.

The shortlisted books for the Indie Awards 2013 are:

FICTION SHORTLIST:
Nine Days by Toni Jordan (Text)
Lost Voices by Christopher Koch (HarperCollins)
Questions of Travel  by Michelle de Kretser (Allen & Unwin)
The Mountain by Drusilla Modjeska (Random House)

NON-FICTION SHORTLIST:
Lake Eyre by Paul Lockyer (HarperCollins)
QF32 by Richard de Crespigny (Macmillan)
Sandakan by Paul Ham (Random House)
The Essential Leunig: Cartoons from a Winding Path by Michael Leunig (Penguin)

DEBUT FICTION SHORTLIST:
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman (Random House)
Eleven Seasons by Paul D. Carter (Allen & Unwin)
The Cartographer by Peter Twohig (HarperCollins)
Secrets of the Tides by Hannah Richell (Hachette Little Brown)

CHILDREN’S SHORTLIST:
The Convent by Maureen McCarthy (Allen & Uwnin)
The 26-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (Macmillan)
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
Unforgotten by Tohby Riddle (Allen & Unwin)

'I love bookshops. Nothing can replace the authority, experience and passion of the independent bookseller, and this year I've had the privilege of confirming that view not just from my usual reader perspective, but, for the first time, as an author.  Whilst every Indie bookshop is different, they share a distinctive DNA around the world: an understanding of individual tastes, an obsession with the life-enhancing power of the written word, and a delight in matchmaking readers and books they'll fall in love with. M L Stedman, The Light Between Oceans

I'm so grateful to the indie booksellers of Australia for embracing Secrets of the Tides and launching my debut novel with such a wave of support. For me, one of the best things about becoming a published author was being able to visit so many fabulous bookstores around the country and meet the passionate booksellers hand-selling and matchmaking books to readers every day. I'm thrilled and gobsmacked to be shortlisted for the Indie Debut Fiction Award and it's a true honour to receive this encouragement as a first-time novelist. Thank you. Hannah Richell, Secrets of the Tides

I’m deeply appreciative of independent booksellers. Without their good-natured enterprise, passion and specialist knowledge, many books would struggle to find their rightful place in the sun, and our culture would surely be the poorer. Tohby Riddle, Unforgotten

It's an honour to have QF32 shortlisted for the Indie Award. Just as much as my passengers trust and enjoy the services and experience that comes with a value added airline, so I value the Independent Booksellers that remain a vital and essential part of our community. Thank-you for your wonderful championing of my story QF32 would not have been a success without your support! Richard De Crespigny, QF32