INDIE AWARD 2011 WINNERS ANNOUNCED. Monday night, at their annual Conference, Australia’s independent booksellers announced The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do (Allen & Unwin) the winner of the Indie Book of the Year Award 2011, as their favourite Australian book from the past 12 months.
The individual category winners, in Fiction, Debut Fiction, Non-Fiction and Children’s, were also announced. From these four category winners the independent booksellers selected the best of the best – The Indie Book of the Year for 2011.
The category winners were:
Best Fiction, Bereft By Chris Womersley (Scribe)
Best Non-Fiction, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do (Allen & Unwin)
Best Debut Fiction, Rocks in the Belly by Jon Bauer
Best Children’s Book, Mirror by Jeannie Baker (Walker Books).
According to Simon Milne, General Manager of Leading Edge Books, the awards organiser, “The Happiest Refugee was chosen by an overwhelming number of independent booksellers as their Book of the Year. Last year was an important year for non-fiction, and this is the first time a non-fiction book has won this Award. Anh Do’s story – of his family’s struggle to reach Australia, and the life they have created since then – touched booksellers and readers alike”. One of the booksellers describes it this way: “Anh’s story will reach into every heart of every reader who is fortunate enough to be absorbed from page one. The story of the family, their hardship and the love and humor that gets them through put this book on a par with A. B. Facey’s A Fortunate Life. I hope lots of Australians get to read his book and appreciate Australia through Anh’s eyes.”
Independent booksellers have a well-earned reputation for being the ones to spot the next-big-thing and The Indie Awards is one to watch. Previous Indie Book of the Year winners are Breath by Tim Winton andJasper Jones by Craig Silvey, which both went on to national and international acclaim.
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