The ABIA 2019 longlists were announced today
Literary fiction book of the year
Boy Swallows Universe (Trent Dalton, Fourth Estate), see Sue’s review at Whispering Gums
Bridge of Clay (Markus Zusak, Picador)
In the Garden of the Fugitives (Ceridwen Dovey, Hamish Hamilton), see Theresa’s review at Theresa Smith Writes
Shell (Kristina Olsson, Scribner), see my review
The Children’s House (Alice Nelson, Vintage), see my review
The Shepherd’s Hut (Tim Winton, Hamish Hamilton), see Theresa’s review at Theresa Smith Writes
Too Much Lip (Melissa Lucashenko, UQP), see my review
Wintering (Krissy Kneen, Text)
General fiction book of the year
Nine Perfect Strangers (Liane Moriarty, Macmillan), see Theresa’s review at Theresa Smith Writes
Scrublands (Chris Hammer, A&U), see Kim’s review at Reading Matters
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Holly Ringland, Fourth Estate), see Theresa’s review at Theresa Smith Writes
The Lost Man (Jane Harper, Macmillan), see Theresa’s review at Theresa Smith Writes
The Nowhere Child (Christian White, Affirm), see Kim’s review at Reading Matters
The Other Wife (Michael Robotham, Hachette)
The Rúin (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins)
The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Heather Morris, Echo), see my review
General nonfiction book of the year
Any Ordinary Day (Leigh Sales, Hamish Hamilton)
Boys Will Be Boys (Clementine Ford, A&U)
Dear Santa (Samuel Johnson, Hachette)
No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison (Behrouz Boochani, trans by Omid Tofighian, Picador)
The Arsonist (Chloe Hooper, Hamish Hamilton), see my review
The Land Before Avocado (Richard Glover, ABC Books)
Welcome to Country: A Travel Guide to Indigenous Australia (Marcia Langton, Hardie Grant Travel)
Woo’s Wonderful World of Maths (Eddie Woo, Macmillan)
Biography book of the year
Back, After the Break (Osher Günsberg, HarperCollins)
Butterfly on a Pin: A Memoir of Love, Despair and Reinvention (Alannah Hill, Hardie Grant)
Challenge Accepted! (Celeste Barber, HarperCollins)
Eggshell Skull (Bri Lee, A&U), see Kate’s review at Books Are My Favourite and Best
Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography (Johnathan Thurston with James Phelps, HarperCollins)
One Hundred Years of Dirt (Rick Morton, MUP)
Speaking Up (Gillian Triggs, MUP), on my TBR
Teacher (Gabbie Stroud, A&U)
International book of the year
Becoming (Michelle Obama, Viking), on The Spouse’s TBR
CIRCE (Madeline Miller, Bloomsbury)
Fear: Trump in the White House (Bob Woodward, Simon & Schuster)
Less (Andrew Sean Greer, Abacus)
Lost Connections (Johann Hari, Bloomsbury Circus)
Milkman (Anna Burns, Faber), on my TBR
Normal People (Sally Rooney, Faber)
Ottolenghi Simple (Yotam Ottolenghi, Ebury)
Small publishers’ adult book of the year
A Superior Spectre (Angela Meyer, Peter Bishop Books), see my review
Blakwork (Alison Whittaker, Magabala)
Deep Time Dreaming (Billy Griffiths, Black Inc.)
Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia (ed by Anita Heiss, Black Inc.), see my review
The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted (Robert Hillman, Text)
The Geography of Friendship (Sally Piper, UQP)
The Western Front Diaries of Charles Bean (ed by Peter Burness, NewSouth, published in association with the Australian War Memorial)
Wild Sea: A History of the Southern Ocean (Joy McCann, NewSouth)
The Matt Richell award for new writer of the year
Boy Swallows Universe (Trent Dalton, Fourth Estate), see Sue’s review at Whispering Gums
The Nowhere Child (Christian White, Affirm)
Eggshell Skull (Bri Lee, A&U), see Kate’s review at Books Are My Favourite and Best
One Hundred Years of Dirt (Rick Morton, MUP)
Teacher (Gabbie Stroud, A&U)
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Holly Ringland, Fourth Estate)
The Rúin (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins)
The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Heather Morris, Echo), see my review
Shortlists will be announced on 11 April, and the winners on 2 May at a ceremony in Sydney.
Visit the ABIA website to see longlists for these awards
- Small publishers’ children’s book of the year
- Illustrated book of the year
- Children’s picture book of the year (ages 0-6)
- Book of the year for younger children (ages 7-12)
- Book of the year for older children (ages 13+)
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
I’ve read quite a few of these, in the different fiction categories. Some very good books listed. Thanks for the mentions!
LikeLike
By: Theresa Smith Writes on March 7, 2019
at 12:33 pm
Yes, you have… have I missed any links?
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Lisa Hill on March 7, 2019
at 1:15 pm
I have read quite a few but ones that you don’t have any links listed here against are:
Nine Perfect Strangers
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
The Lost Man
I’m so pleased to see The Children’s House, A Superior Spectre, In the Garden of Fugitives and Shell nominated.
LikeLike
By: Theresa Smith Writes on March 7, 2019
at 1:22 pm
I was pleased to see these too. I think (in general, though with exceptions) that these particular awards tend towards books that are selling well, so it’s good to see that those books are successful. Thanks for the links, Theresa, I’ll add them all now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Lisa Hill on March 7, 2019
at 2:59 pm
Yes, there does seem to be an aura of commercial success about the entries each year.
Thank you! You’re a champ providing all of those links for readers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Theresa Smith Writes on March 7, 2019
at 3:35 pm
Thanks for the links Lisa. I’m pleased to see Dalton getting noticed.
I’d like to read Less, Milkman and Normal People on the International list but whether I will is another thing.
Mr Gums read and really enjoyed The Land Before Avocado.
I have just started Too Much Lip but Dad has been in hospital for nearly a week, and various family members have been coming and going so reading time has been severely curtailed. And I’m behind one review!
LikeLike
By: whisperinggums on March 7, 2019
at 3:40 pm
That’s no good about your dad, it’s hard, I know.
I think I’ll probably read Circe at some stage, I quite like Miller’s rewrites of ancient texts. But I haven’t heard anything about Less, I must not have been paying attention!
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on March 7, 2019
at 4:05 pm
My daughter LOVED Circe, so I’m tempted to read that one too, I must admit. I gave Less to my son for Christmas. A Pulitzer prize winner, which can be hit and miss, but this one sounds interesting.
LikeLike
By: whisperinggums on March 7, 2019
at 4:17 pm
Ah, that explains it, I really can’t follow all the prizes and the Pulitzer is one that often passes me by… until someone reviews it:)
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on March 7, 2019
at 4:25 pm
Me too. It caught my attention in some bloggers’ top reads last year because it uses humour.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: whisperinggums on March 7, 2019
at 8:13 pm
Oh, and re Dad – 99 in May – we really had him down and out last night but today he’s alert, eating, and ready to sit up and do what the physio says. As our nurse niece says, he’s the cat with 9 lives.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: whisperinggums on March 7, 2019
at 4:19 pm
That must be a relief to you all!
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Lisa Hill on March 7, 2019
at 4:29 pm
I like the idea of a ‘literary fiction’ prize, it tells me where I should concentrate my attention (though why Winton and not Murnane?). If I were reading more than a few pages per week I think I would buy myself the Krissy Kneen.
LikeLike
By: wadholloway on March 7, 2019
at 7:26 pm
Because Winton would outsell Murnane by zillions to one!
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on March 7, 2019
at 8:06 pm
Read 2 books and #DNF one biography.
This is a sad reading result.
I’ve been sidetracked lately by reading classics and
Irish authors for #ReadingIrelandMonth19.
I have to ‘get back Down Under”!
Thanks for this handy list!
LikeLike
By: N@ncy on March 7, 2019
at 7:50 pm
Which biography?
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on March 7, 2019
at 8:06 pm
Speaking Up
It is was very matter-to-fact and I missed
a release of emotion that I could relate to or reflect on.
I still have it on Kindle…should I give it another go?
Have you heard of any other readers who had trouble with this book?…or am I the exception on the other side of the world!
LikeLike
By: N@ncy on March 7, 2019
at 8:12 pm
Ah, I have that one myself. She spoke very powerfully about it at the NF Festival last year, but I haven’t had time to tackle it yet.
But, apropos of what you say about emotion, I would say that her media performances show her to be a very controlled person.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Lisa Hill on March 7, 2019
at 8:25 pm
Hmmm… these are interesting categories… I’ve read The Nowhere Child https://readingmattersblog.com/2019/02/03/the-nowhere-child-by-christian-white/ and Scrublands https://readingmattersblog.com/2019/01/06/scrublands-by-chris-hammer/
LikeLike
By: kimbofo on March 7, 2019
at 8:21 pm
Thanks Kim, I’ll add them in. I *knew* I’d read a review of Scrublands somewhere quite recently !
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on March 7, 2019
at 8:27 pm
I wish I was a speed reader with 100% comprehension. So many good books on this list and have only read two or three.
LikeLike
By: TravellinPenguin on March 8, 2019
at 11:01 am
Well, I’ve only read five. IMO it’s impossible to keep up!
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on March 8, 2019
at 3:40 pm
Too many books in the world….thank goodness!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: TravellinPenguin on March 11, 2019
at 8:59 am
I think I’ll wait for the winner to be announced and then, if I like the sound of it, add it to my wishlist…..If I don’t restrain myself I’ll end up with an enormous TBR stack
LikeLike
By: BookerTalk on April 12, 2019
at 2:01 am
Yes, it gets a bit out of hand… I know:)
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on April 12, 2019
at 7:55 am