IBW Book Awards shortlists revealed

Two Julia Donaldson titles feature in the shortlist for the new Independent Booksellers Week Picture Book Award.

The shortlists for the Booksellers Association-run awards have been released today (28th March).

Walker Books and Pan Macmillan Children’s Books both have four books nominated for the new Picture Book award. Julia Donaldson has two titles shortlisted in the category – Sugarlump & the Unicorn and The Paper Dolls (Pan Macmillan). Other titles include The Pigeon Needs a Bath by Mo Williams (Walker) and Happy Birthday Hugless Dougless by David Melling (Hodder).

Titles shortlisted for the Adult category include Stephen Grosz’s The Examined Life (Vintage), Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life (Black Swan) and Nina Stibbe’s Love Nina (Penguin), along with Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean At the End of the Lane (Headline) and others (see below). The children’s book award sees children’s laureate Malorie Blackman nominated for Noble Conflict (Random House) along with Patrick Ness for More than This (Walker) and Lara Williamson’s A Boy Called Hope (Usborne), among more (see full list below).

The winners will be announced on the first day of Independent Booksellers Week on 28th June. Indie shops in the UK and Ireland will promote the all the shortlisted titles throughout the week, with the aide of dedicated POS featuring the nominated books.

Commenting on his shortlist nomination, author Stephen Grosz said: “This award is particularly important to me because independent bookshops have been essential in bringing my book to the attention of readers, right from the start. Each time I walk past my local bookshop and see the wonderful window display that they have put together for The Examined Life, or when a friend sends me a photograph of the display in their local bookshop, I am grateful for these vibrant and unique spaces that mean so much to our communities.”

Malorie Blackman agreed that independent bookshops play a “crucial role” in communities, especially because they are able to stock and recommend books of local appeal. “They also provide an invaluable platform for debut authors. I've been lucky enough to visit a number of independent bookshops nationwide and I've always found them welcoming, innovative and with booksellers who display an impressive knowledge of their stock and who care passionately about literature,” Blackman said.

Judges for the adult category include Sheila O’Reilly from Dulwich Books, Foyles’ Lisa Bywater, Eithne Farry from the Daily Mail and Sunday Express, and author Rachel Joyce. Both children’s categories will be judged by Katie Clapham from Storytellers Inc in Lytham St Annes, Jenny Morris from the former Lion and Unicorn bookshop, Brough Girling, founder of Readathon, and author Elen Caldecott.

The judging panels will be chaired by Booksellers Association President Patrick Neale.

The full list of shortlisted titles is:

Adult

The Examined Life, Stephen Grosz, Vintage
Life After Life, Kate Atkinson, Black Swan
Longbourn, Jo Baker, Black Swan
Return of a King, William Dalrymple, Bloomsbury
The Broken Road, Patrick Leigh Fermor, John Murray
Reason I Jump, Naoki Higashida, Sceptre
Love Nina, Nina Stibbe, Penguin
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt, Little, Brown
The Quarry, Iain Banks, Abacus
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman, Headline

Children's Fiction

Noble Conflict, Malorie Blackman, Random House
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, Stephan Pastis, Walker Books
Flora & Ulysses, Kate Di Camillo, Walker Books
More Than This, Patrick Ness, Walker Books
A Boy Called Hope, Lara Williamson, Usborne
Picture Me Gone, Meg Rosoff, Penguin
The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star, Jill Murphy, Puffin
Half Bad, Sally Green, Penguin
Warp Book 1: The Reluctant Assassin, Eoin Colfer, Puffin
Fortunately the Milk, Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell, Bloomsbury Children's Books
The Jolley-Rogers and the Ghostly Galleon, Jonny Duddle, Templar
Hero, Sarah Lean, HarperCollins Children's Books

Children's Picture Book

Sugarlump and the Unicorn, Julia Donaldson & Lydia Monks, Macmillan Children's Books
Aunt Amelia, Rebecca Cobb, Macmillan Children's Books
The Paper Dolls, Julia Donaldson & Rebecca Cobb, Macmillan Children's Books
Mr Tiger Goes Wild, Peter Brown, Macmillan Children's Books
The Pigeon Needs a Bath, Mo Williams, Walker Books
A First Book of Nature, Nicola Davies & Mark Hearld, Walker Books
Hooray for Bread, Allan Ahlberg & Bruce Ingman, Walker Books
Extra Yarn, Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen, Walker Books
Crayon, Simon Rickerty, Simon and Schuster Children's Books
Meet the Parents, Peter Bently & Sara Ogilvie, Simon and Schuster Children's Books
Happy Birthday Hugless Douglas, David Melling, Hodder
Best-loved Classics: Alice Through the Looking Glass, Retold by Emma Chichester Clark, HarperCollins Children's Books