The winners of the 2015 Australian Book of the Year Awards were announced yesterday at a star-studded event at Sydney’s Doltone House.
Taking out the top award, funny man Andy Griffiths made history, with his book, The 52-storey Treehouse becoming the first children’s book to win the Book of the Year award.
The 52-storey Treehouse is the first book in a series to win the prestigious award. The book is the fourth in the Treehouse series by Andy Griffiths and illustrator, Terry Denton.
Brooke Davis took out the General Fiction Book of the Year with her best-seller, Lost and Found. The internationally acclaimed novel dominated best-seller lists across the globe and has been translated into 25 languages.
Lost and Found is her debut novel.
Another debut novel, Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke, took out the Literary Fiction Book of the Year. Foreign Soil is a collection of short stories dealing with issues such as migration, racism and mistreatment.
Prize-winning author, Tim Low, added another award to his belt, winning the General Non Fiction Book of the Year award for Where Song Began. His novel won against names such as Don Watson, Annabel Crabb and Helen Garner, and became the first nature book to win in this category.
Julia Gillard and Molly Meldrum were beat out off the Biography of the Year category by trailblazer, David Walsh. Walsh’s memoir, A Bone of Fact, tells the story of his journey from professional gambler to museum owner.
The Older Children Book of the Year award went to Judith Rossell for her work, Withering-by-Sea, whilst the Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year went to Jane Jolly’s zany Tea and Sugar Christmas.
Two books focusing on the horror and history of war son big tonight. Anzac Treasures, a Gallipoli tribute, by Peter Pederson won the Illustrated Book of the Year, whilst All the Light We Cannot See, a World War Two epic, won the International Book of the Year.
Bob Carr’s controversial, Diary of a Foreign Minister was awarded the Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year, for its insight and intrigue.
“It is fantastic to see such a talented pool of winners, from acclaimed writers to popular novelists and exciting debut authors, recognised for their creative vision and passion for sharing their stories and ideas,” said HarperCollins CEO, James Kellow, “While there are certainly challenges for the sector to continue to thrive and be innovative, I think it is safe to say that this year’s ABIA book finalists and winners show there is no shortage of exciting Australian author talent, and a huge appetite among readers for great stories written well.”
Congratulations to the winners.
