I don’t usually report on all book awards but I do like to follow the ABIA – Australian Book Industry Awards. The 2021 longlist has just been announced today and I’ve read quite a number of the books listed, all of which I enjoyed except one. I’m going to do my usual here and just share the ABIA lists as they appear over on the ABIA website. Let me know if you have any favourites or not so favourites listed and we can compare notes!
Theresa Smith Writes 
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I’ve actually read a few of these! I’ve read 5 from the general fiction list and 2 from the international list, 4 from the literary list, 1 from the biography, 1 from the non-fiction list plus one from the YA list and one from the younger children list.
Faves….I adored The Last Migration, as you know! It was one of my favourite reads of 2020, I also really loved the David Attenborough and the Barack Obama. A Room Made Of Leaves was interesting and Sorrow & Bliss was very well written! Truganini was fascinating also. Trust was a good crime read, my favourite in the series so far. I’m honestly hopeless at picking winners though!
Honeybee and The Vanishing Half are on my TBR and I’ll be getting to both of those in the next month or so. I also own All The Shimmering Skies but am yet to pick it up.
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There are a lot of really good books listed. I don’t know if I feel this way because I have read quite a few of them or if the standard is just higher this year. But I’m struggling in some categories to pick a favourite!
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For me, the books I always want to win, never do!
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I can relate to that!
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Nice to see lots of different books this year with only a few in more than one category – shows that we do have more than one book and author deserving of attention! (Remeber a few years ago the book that was in almost half the categories and won all it’s categories that everyone gushed about? People are still deeply offended when you say you don’t want to read it!).There are several here that I have to read – and am hoping to get to them soon!
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I did love that particular book you’re referring back to (😁) but I also like a better spread of titles. There are indeed many worthy books and I feel it’s always better when there isn’t too much repetition between the categories.
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Haha, I know. A better spread definitely gives a better idea of Australian literature in my view – and allows for many people to find something they like, not just a few and then everyone else feels like they have to read the “it” book. Repetition doesn’t help this, and I hope that each category has a different winner too this year.
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What do you think of the listings for children? I know nothing about children’s literature beyond what you publish on your blog 😁
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Really diverse – I haven’t had a chance to read all of them, but I’m thrilled We Are Wolves is there – that deserves to win. Hollowpox and The Year the Maps Changed are fantastic. I’m yet to read The Grandest Bookshop in the World. Fire Wombat was lovely too. I haven’t read the other picture books yet, but that’s going to be a hard call because so many have important messages about diversity and fire, yet I feel like Bluey is so popular, it might have it in the bag more than others.
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Would be hard to be a judge!
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It would! Imagine having to read all these books though! Would anyone sleep??
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😂🤷♀️
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I mean, I barely sleep as it is with all I have to read!
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Same! I am lucky if I am turning off the light before midnight any given night and then I’m up at 6.15 each morning for work and school, etc. I don’t even sleep in on the weekends, only until 7.30 at the latest.
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I’m up by 7.30am as well every day. It’s rare I sleep in unless things have been bad. I just got a package from Scholastic of review books I’d already done, haha! Now waiting for the March books, so fingers crossed they arrive soon. The books are so lovely I tend to keep them.
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It’s hard to part to with lovely books. I keep far more than I pass on.
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Me too, I should go through mine again sometime and rearrange what I am keeping.
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I like doing that. It’s become a ‘sub-hobby’. Ha!
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Haha yep!
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I would really, really love to see The Animals In That Country get the gong – it was so timely and so intriguing.
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I still haven’t read it!
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