Aus. Indie Book Awards (2026)

Australian independent booksellers have nominated their favourite Australian books of 2025 and are thrilled to announce their SHORTLIST for the Indie Book Awards 2026!

Since 2008, the Indie Book Awards have recognised the finest Australian writing and who better to nominate and judge theses standout titles than indie booksellers? Passionate and knowledgeable, these booksellers champion Australian literature well beyond the big names, enriching the diversity of Australia's reading culture. These awards honour their essential role in supporting Australian storytellers.

Updated March 4, 2026
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City of Vincent City of Vincent
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Aus. Indie Book Awards (2026)

Australian independent booksellers have nominated their favourite Australian books of 2025 and are thrilled to announce their SHORTLIST for the Indie Book Awards 2026!

Since 2008, the Indie Book Awards have recognised the finest Australian writing and who better to nominate and judge theses standout titles than indie booksellers? Passionate and knowledgeable, these booksellers champion Australian literature well beyond the big names, enriching the diversity of Australia's reading culture. These awards honour their essential role in supporting Australian storytellers.

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1

Tenderfoot
Jordan, Toni
Paper Book

2

Wild dark shore
McConaghy, Charlotte
Paper Book
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB'S BOOK OF THE YEAR * LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (NPR, TIME, USA Today, The Economist, Scientific...

3

One hundred years of Betty
Oswald, Debra
Paper Book
One ordinary extraordinary woman living through a century of massive change, from the bestselling author of The Family Doctor.

4

Mad Mabel
Hepworth, Sally
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate and Darling Girls comes the story of Mad Mabel. They called it murder. She called it justice.In 1959, at just fifteen years of age, Mabel Waller became the youngest Australian in history to be convicted of...

5

Memorial days
Brooks, Geraldine
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist A New York Times Notable Book of 2025 · A Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2025 · A Time Best Memoir of 2025 · Named a Best Book of 2025 by NPR,...

6

The mushroom tapes : conversations on a triple murder trial
Garner, Helen
Paper Book
In July 2023, in the quiet Gippsland town of Leongatha, Erin Patterson--stay-at-home mother and true-crime devotee--invited her husband's devoutly Christian family to lunch. Within days, three of her guests were dead and the fourth was in a coma. They had all been poisoned by death cap mushrooms....

7

Always home, always homesick
Kent, Hannah
Paper Book
'In my brief breath of life, might I find a way to fit light to paper?'In a land of ethereal beauty, within a culture soaked in myth, a young woman discovers the story that will change her life.In 2003, seventeen-year-old Australian exchange student Hannah Kent arrives at Keflavík Airport in the...

8

A bunker in kyiv: ; the astonishing story of the people's army defying putin
Lyons, John.
Paper Book
A riveting account of courageous resistance from the bestselling author of Balcony Over Jerusalem Longlisted for the 2025 Walkley Award Longlisted for Best Non Fiction in the Indie Book Awards 2026 On 24 February 2022, residents of Kyiv, Ukraine, woke to the...

9

The butterfly women
Cleary, Madeleine
Paper Book
It's 1863, and Melbourne is transitioning from a fledgling colony to a thriving, gold-fuelled metropolis. But behind its shiny new facade, the real Melbourne can be found in the notorious red-light district of Little Lon, full of brothels where rich and poor alike can revel all night. The most...

10

Daughters of Batavia
Koens, Stefanie
Paper Book
A woman searching for answers in her own life finds them - and much more - in the wreckage and haunting stories of the Batavia shipwreck. The powerfully moving historical debut from the winner of the Banjo Prize for Fiction. For all fans of Natasha Lester, Lauren Chater and Tea Cooper. ...

11

Melaleuca
Martin, Angie Faye
Paper Book
A country town, a brutal murder, a shameful past, a reckoning to come... The injustices of the past and dangers of the present envelop Aboriginal policewoman Renee Taylor, when her unwilling return to the small outback town of her childhood plunges her into the investigation of a brutal murder.<...

12

Planting for Native Birds, Bees and Butterflies
Crupi, Jaclyn.
Paper Book
An essential, eye-opening (and beautiful) guide to the simple, sustainable ways we can invite more native birds, bees and butterflies into our gardens and outdoor spaces.

13

Wild by design: naturalistic gardening for modern australian landscapes
Pilgrim, Tim.
Paper Book
How to create a biodiverse, climate-proof, plant-driven garden for any space, inspired by the beauty of nature.

14

There's a prawn in Parliament House : the kids' guide to Australia's amazing democracy
Crabb, Annabel; First Dog on the Moon
Paper Book
A funny and informative account of how Australia's democracy works, written for kids by one of Australia's best-known and most entertaining political writers and documentary makers, Annabel Crabb - host of top-rating ABC series Annabel Crabb's Civic Duty, The House, Kitchen Cabinet<...

15

Harry and Gran Bake a Cake
McIntosh, Fiona.
Paper Book
Harry and Gran are going to bake a cake. What could possibly go wrong? A funny and charming story of a gran and her grandchild sharing the joy of baking together . . . and embracing the hilarious mishaps that occur along the way.

16

Silverborn : the mystery of Morrigan Crow
Townsend, Jessica
Paper Book
Discover the Wundrous world of Nevermoor in the highly anticipated fourth book in the New York Times bestselling series. Morrigan Crow is ready for a new adventure. In Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow, we will travel to places in Nevermoor that we've never seen, meet...

17

The foal in the wire
Coburn, Robbie
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 INDIE BOOK AWARD - YOUNG ADULT An astonishingly raw and beautiful verse novel about survival, love and the bonds between humans and animals from an important young Australian poet Sam, a teenager, lives on a...

18

Drift
Harry, Pip
Paper Book

19

Wandering wild
Noni, Lynette
Paper Book
A GIRL HAUNTED BY TRAGEDY. A BOY SEEKING REDEMPTION. A WILDERNESS AS BEAUTIFUL AS IT IS DEADLY. Zander Rune was the darling of Hollywood until he fell from glory and was labelled a problematic bad boy. His public image needs fixing-fast-<...
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