2026 ABIA shortlist announced

The 2026 shortlist for the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) has just been announced, and we’re thrilled to share that Penguin Random House Australia has twelve books across six categories in the running this year.

Keep reading to learn about each book and which awards they have been nominated for.

2025 ABIAs shortlisted books

Audiobook of the Year

Unstuck by Dr Emily Musgrove

‘Dr Em’s expertise, humility and compassion make her the perfect person to turn to when you are feeling stuck. This book will change lives. Truly incredible.’ – Hugh van Cuylenburg

The Mushroom Tapes by Dr Emily Musgrove

The Mushroom Tapes is a true crime book like no other, an unputdownable record of the writers’ private conversations about their impressions from inside the courtroom. They explore the gap between the certainties of the law and the messiness of reality, their own ambivalence about the true crime genre, and all that remains unknowable about Erin Patterson

How They Get You by Chris Kohler

'Chris Kohler’s How They Get You is the most readable, interesting, insightful - and highly amusing - book that has ever been written about contemporary consumer experiences.' – Professor Allan Fels AO, Former Chair Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)

Cruel Is The Light by Sophie Clark

'Set in a world as resplendent as it is brutal, with a taut, searing romance thrumming with can’t-catch-your-breath tension. Cruel is the Light is a masterclass in romantasy and a thoroughly scorching debut.' – Bea Fitzgerald

'A powerhouse debut from Sophie Clark! Cruel is the Light pulls you into a dangerous world of exorcists, demons and forbidden love - and doesn't let go until the last page. Gripping, vivid and beautifully written!' – Vanessa Len

This Stays Between Us by Margot McGovern

'Powerful, heartbreaking, hair-raising and absolutely terrifying. This feminist ode to the 90s slasher films is twisty, clever and frightening from beginning to end.' – Amy Doak

Wandering Wild by Lynette Noni

Bestselling Australian author Lynette Noni turns her hand to contemporary romance in this swoony YA novel, perfect for readers wanting a high stakes lost-in-the-wilderness adventure brimming with tension-filled romance.

General Nonfiction Book of the Year

Broken Brains by Jamila Rizvi & Rosie Waterland

Broken Brains is a personal book about physical brain health and mental brain health, and how they coexist in two very different spaces.This book offers exactly what both Jamila and Rosie wish they’d had at the height of their illnesses: comfort, solidarity and understanding. Sometimes funny, sometimes brutal, this book is essential reading for anyone who has ever been sick or loved someone who was.

Illustrated Book of the Year

A Woman's Eye, Her Art by Drusilla Modjeska

'Modjeska's chapters on Modersohn-Becker are revelatory and deeply moving, illuminating in intimate and affecting ways the artist’s struggle and courage. By doing so, Modjeska contributes to the broader effort to accord Modersohn-Becker, known for her arresting self-portraits, belated recognition as a major artist of the twentieth century ... Indeed, the book is richly illustrated, both in the sheer number of images and in Modjeska’s writerly skills, which show her readers how to look and how to see. All this is presented against the backdrop of a world falling apart as Europe is wracked by two world wars. As a result, the book has the quality both of erudite art history, social commentary, and delicious gossip ... In ways different from the representational and analytical work films and exhibitions can do, Modjeska’s luscious text affords a more expansive view of the intricacies of the lives and struggles of a cohort of artist-women working in Europe across the twentieth century. Driven as it is by her curiosity about women’s creative lives, Modjeska draws us into their work and lives with unstinting generosity.' – Maria Nugent, Inside Story

International Book of the Year

Alchemised by SenLinYu

'A superb dark fantasy novel set in a war torn world of black magic and alchemy.' – Sun

'A work of quite staggering ambition. Detailed world-building, intricate plot, Gothic claustrophobia, wraps the readers in its dark embrace.' – Daily Mail

A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern

'A Different Kind of Power is the story of the forces that have shaped Jacinda Ardern and the intentional effort she has put into creating a new template for the next generation of leaders to follow. Ardern’s insightful and inspiring memoir challenges old definitions of strength and power by emphasizing the urgency of compassion and kindness. World leaders have a lot to learn from her timely and important perspective.' – Melinda Gates

'Jacinda Ardern's memoir gives us a rare glimpse into the foundations of her unique and unprecedented leadership style, one that values humanity above all else. It's an essential, inspiring read in our current political climate.' – Natalie Portman

Nobody's Girl by Virgina Roberts Giuffre

'A devastating exposé of power, corruption and abuse ... lays bare the life-wrecking impact of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes – but it is also the story of how a young woman becomes a hero ... important, courageous, tragically posthumous.' – Emma Brockes, The Guardian

'This astonishing book left me reaching for breath …it is impossible to forget the glare of Virginia Giuffre’s headlight exposure of an iniquitous abuse system that can exist and destroy within plain sight. And it is impossible to ignore the urgency of Giuffre’s rallying cry to us all to unsilence the secret code of self-protection wielded by the powerful, the rich and the regal.' – Juliet Nicolson

'Takes us into unimaginable realms of human suffering ...devastating.' – Sarah Ditum, The New York Times

Literary Fiction Book of the Year

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

‘A breathtaking novel of romance, mystery and twists that will shock you...I love this book so much.’ – Reese Witherspoon

‘A ferociously smart read, timely and poetic, and had me gripped from the very first page.’ – Rachel Joyce

‘Enthralling … A finely written novel that’s also a family saga — the kids, Raff, Fen and Orly, are brilliantly portrayed — a masterclass in using multiple perspectives, and an evocation of an ecosystem that’s both poetic and science-driven.’ – Sunday Times