2023 Australian Book Industry Awards winners announced
The winners of the 2023 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) have been revealed, while a whole host of titles taking home their well-deserved accolades from an impressive shortlist of 70.
Categories included Book of the Year for Social Impact, International Book, Literary Fiction, New Writer, General Non-Fiction, Biography, Children’s Picture Book, and more - to the delight of booklovers all across the nation.
There was an ‘overall’ winner from the big night, too, with Nagi Maehashi’s RecipeTin Eats: Dinner taking home the Book of the Year award.
Nagi took to social media to celebrate her win, in the wake of her self-proclaimed “worst acceptance speech of the year”, to thank everyone and express her enthusiastic gratitude for all of the support for her work. And, of course, to thank her four-legged best friend and ‘co-author’, Dozer the dog.
She wasn’t the only one with a smile on her face on the big night, however, with her fellow given plenty of reason to rejoice right along with her.
And so, in no particular order, here are all the winners from the 2023 ABIAs!
ABIA Book of the Year & Illustrated Book of the Year: RecipeTin Eats: Dinner, Nagi Maehashi
“150 dinner recipes. Fail-proof. Delicious. Addictive. The food you want to cook, eat and share, night after night.
"Through her phenomenally popular online food site, RecipeTin Eats, Nagi Maehashi talks to millions of people a year who tell her about the food they love.
"Now, in her first cookbook, Nagi brings us the ultimate curation of new and favourite RecipeTin Eats recipes - from comfort food (yes, cheese galore), to fast and easy food for weeknights, Mexican favourites, hearty dinner salads, Asian soups and noodles, and special treats for festive occasions.”
General Fiction Book of the Year: Dirt Town, Hayley Scrivenor
“On a sweltering Friday afternoon in Durton, best friends Ronnie and Esther leave school together. Esther never makes it home.
“Ronnie's going to find her, she has a plan. Lewis will help. Their friend can't be gone, Ronnie won't believe it.
“Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels can believe it. She has seen what people are capable of. She knows more than anyone how, in a moment of weakness, a person can be driven to do something they never thought possible.
“Lewis can believe it too. But he can't reveal what he saw that afternoon at the creek without exposing his own secret.
“Five days later, Esther's buried body is discovered.”
Literary Fiction Book of the Year: Horse, Geraldine Brooks
“A discarded painting in a roadside clean-up, forgotten bones in a research archive, and Lexington, the greatest racehorse in US history. From these strands of fact, Geraldine Brooks weaves a sweeping story of spirit, obsession and injustice across American history …
“With the moral complexity of March and a multi-stranded narrative reminiscent of People of the Book, this enthralling novel is a gripping reckoning with the legacy of enslavement and racism in America. Horse is the latest masterpiece from a writer with a prodigious talent for bringing the past to life.”
General Non-fiction Book of the Year: Bulldozed, Niki Savva
“Between 2013 and 2022, Tony Abbott begat Malcolm Turnbull, who begat Scott Morrison. For nine long years, Australia was governed by a succession of Coalition governments rocked by instability and bloodletting, and consumed with prosecuting climate and culture wars while neglecting policy.
“By the end, among his detractors — and there were plenty — Morrison was seen as the worst prime minister since Billy McMahon …
“Niki Savva, Australia’s renowned political commentator, author, and columnist, was there for all of it … Now she lays out the final unravelling of the Coalition at the hands of a resurgent Labor and the so-called teal independents that culminated in the historic 2022 election. With her typical access to key players, and her riveting accounts of what went on behind the scenes, Bulldozed is the unique final volume of an unputdownable and impeccably sourced political trilogy.”
Biography Book of the Year: My Dream Time, Ash Barty
“My Dream Time is about finding the path to being the best I could be, not just as an athlete but as a person, and to consider the way those identities overlap and compete. We all have a professional and a personal self. How do you conquer nerves and anxiety? How do you deal with defeat, or pain? What drives you to succeed – and what happens when you do? The answers tell me so much, about bitter disappointments and also dreams realised – from injuries and obscurity and self-doubt to winning Wimbledon and ranking number 1 in the world.
“My story is about the power and joy of doing that thing you love and seeing where it can take you, about the importance of purpose – and perspective – in our lives.”
Social impact Book of the Year: The Boy from Boomerang Crescent, Eddie Betts
“How does a self-described ‘skinny Aboriginal kid’ overcome a legacy of family tragedy to become an AFL legend? One thing’s for sure: it’s not easy. But then, there’s always been something special about Eddie Betts …
“Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic and always honest – often laceratingly so – The Boy from Boomerang Crescent is the inspirational life story of a champion, in his own words. Whether he’s narrating one of his trademark gravity-defying goals from the pocket, the discrimination he’s faced as an Aboriginal person or the birth of his first child, Betts’s voice – intelligent, soulful, unpretentious – rings through on every page.
“The very human story behind the plaudits is one that will surprise, move and inspire.”
Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+): Blood Traitor, Lynette Noni
“Kiva thought she knew what she wanted - revenge. But feelings change, people change … everything has changed.
“After what happened at the palace, Kiva is desperate to know if her friends and family are safe, and whether those she wronged can ever forgive her. But with the kingdoms closer to the brink of war than they’ve ever been, and Kiva far away from the conflict, more is at stake than her own broken heart.
“A fresh start will mean a perilous quest, forcing mortal enemies and uneasy allies together in a race against the clock to save not just Evalon, but all of Wenderall. With her loyalties now set, Kiva can no longer just survive - she must fight for what she believes in. For who she believes in. But with danger coming from every side, and the lives of everyone she loves at risk, does she have what it takes to stand, or will she fall?”
Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7–12): Runt, Craig Silvey (illustrated by Sara Acton)
“Annie Shearer lives in the country town of Upson Downs with her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt. The two share a very special bond.
“After years evading capture, Runt is remarkably fast and agile, perfect for herding runaway sheep. But when a greedy local landowner puts her family's home at risk, Annie directs Runt's extraordinary talents towards a different pursuit - winning the Agility Course Grand Championship at the lucrative Krumpets Dog Show in London.
“However, there is a curious catch: Runt will only obey Annie's commands if nobody else is watching.
“With all eyes on them, Annie and Runt must beat the odds and the fastest dogs in the world to save her farm.
“Runt is a heart-warming and hilarious tale of kindness, friendship, hurdles, hoops, tunnels, see-saws, being yourself and bringing out the best in others.”
Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0–6): What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say, Davina Bell & Hilary Jean Tapper
“A warm and whimsical guide to negotiating life's little moments and big emotions with empathy, kindness and words from the heart.”
International Book of the Year: Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus
“Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.
“But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show, Supper at Six. But her revolutionary approach to cooking, fuelled by scientific and rational commentary, grabs the attention of a nation.
“Soon, a legion of overlooked housewives find themselves daring to change the status quo. One molecule at a time.”
Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year: The Dreaming Path, Paul Callaghan
“The Dreaming Path has always been there, but in the modern-day world, it can be hard to find. There are so many demands on us – family, health, bills, a mortgage, a career – that it can be hard to remember what’s most important: you.
“It’s time to reconnect with your story.
“Through conversations, exercises, Dreamtime stories and key messages, Paul Callaghan and Uncle Paul Gordon will sit you around the fire and share knowledge that reveals the power of Aboriginal spirituality as a profound source of contentment and wellbeing for anyone willing to listen.
"This ancient wisdom is just as relevant today as it ever was.”
Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year: Off to the Market, Alice Oehr
“Sunday is market day. We are looking for pumpkin, apples, eggs, and bread. What else will we find? Where did it come from? And what will we make with it?
“Learn all about produce in this delightful child’s tour of a food market, full of fun facts, delicious new discoveries, and charming characters.
“A loving ode to the people who bring food to our table and connection to our community, from acclaimed artist Alice Oehr.”
Audiobook of the Year: The Whitewash (Siang Lu, Wavesound)
“Siang Lu's searing debut is a black comedy about the whitewashing of the Asian film industry, told in the form of an oral documentary. It sounded like a good idea at the time - a Hollywood spy thriller, starring, for the first time in history, an Asian male lead. With an estimated $350 million production budget and up-and-coming Hong Kong actor JK Jr, who, let's be honest, is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but probably the hottest, Brood Empire was basically a sure thing. Until it wasn't …
“The Whitewash is the definitive oral history of the whole sordid mess. Unofficial. Unasked for. Only intermittently fact-checked, and featuring a fool's gallery of actors, producers, directors, film historians and scummy click-bait journalists, to answer the question of how it all went so horribly, horribly wrong.”
The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year: WAKE, Shelley Burr
“Evelyn simply vanished …Mina McCreery's life has been defined by the intense and ongoing public interest in her sister's case. Now a reclusive adult, Mina lives alone on her family's sunbaked, destocked sheep farm. The million-dollar reward her mother established to solve the disappearance has never been paid out.
“Enter Lane Holland, a private investigator who dropped out of the police academy to earn a living cracking cold cases. Lane has his eye on the unclaimed money, but he also has darker motivations.
“WAKE is a powerful, unsparing story of how trauma ripples outward when people's private tragedies become public property, and how it's never too late for the truth to set things right.”
Images: Instagram