Indie Book Awards 2023 Shortlist Revealed
The Best Summer Reads as Picked by Independent Bookshops
Last updated 15th Jun 2023
The shortlist for the Indie Book Awards 2023 has been announced today, and Scala Radio are delighted to be partnering with the annual awards to bring you the best summer reads exclusively curated by independent bookshops as part of Independent Bookshop Week.
2023 Indie Book Awards Shortlist includes: A Hero Like Me by Angela Joy & Jen Reid and illustrated by Leire Salaberria, Consumed - The Need For Collective Change by Aja Barber, Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie and The Lost Whale by Hannah Gold and illustrated by Levi Pinfold.
This year Scala Radio are proudly partnering with the Indie Book Awards to celebrate the best paperbacks of the summer across four categories – Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s Fiction and Picture Book, that are handpicked by the expertise of independent booksellers. The Indie Book Awards are part of Independent Bookshop Week, the annual campaign celebrating indie bookshops in the UK and Ireland between 17 and 24 June, organised by the Booksellers Association.
This year’s shortlist includes the Booker Prize-winning author Douglas Stuart (Young Mungo), Oscar-nominated actor from Withnail and I and Can You Ever Forgive Me? Richard E. Grant (A Pocketful of Happiness), Women Prize-shortlisted author Barbara Kingsolver (Demon Copperhead), comedian, actor and writer Robin Ince (The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity), Nigerian writer named among the “BBC's 100 women of 2021” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Notes on Grief) and international best-selling fantasty author A F Steadman (Skandar and the Unicorn Thief).
A judging panel of independent booksellers will decide on the four winners, which will be announced on Friday 23rd June, the penultimate day of Independent Bookshop Week. The winners will be announced exclusively on Scala Radio on** Penny Smith's show from 10am.**
The Full Indie Book Awards 2023 Shortlist:
FICTION
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Faber & Faber)
You Made a Fool Out of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi (Faber & Faber)
Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie (Bloomsbury Circus)
The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews (Raven Books)
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart (Picador)
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (Picador)
NON-FICTION
Super Infinite by Katherine Rundell (Faber & Faber)
The Instant by Amy Liptrot (Canongate Books)
A Pocketful of Happiness by Richard E Grant (Simon & Schuster UK)
Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fourth Estate)
CHILDREN’S FICTON
The Lost Whale by Hannah Gold, illustrated by Levi Pinfold (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna (Welbeck Flame)
Marv and the Pool of Peril by Alex Falase-Koya, pictures by Paula Bowles (Oxford University Press)
Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A F Steadman (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
The Elemental Detectives by Patrice Lawrence (Scholastic)
Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Ruling the World by Louie Stowell (Walker Books)
PICTURE BOOK
John Agard’s Windrush Child by John Agard, illustrated by Sophie Bass (Walker Books)
The Boy With Flowers in His Hair by Jarvis (Walker Books)
Frank and Bert: The One Where Bert Learns to Ride a Bike by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros (Nosy Crow)
The Gecko and the Echo by Rachel Bright & Jim Field (Orchard Books)
Timid by Harry Woodgate (Little Tiger)
Purchase all shortlisted books on our Scala Radio Book Club shop.
Who Will Judge The Awards?
The Adult categories judging panel consists of Tom Rowley (Backstory, London), Olivia Rosenthall (Maldon Books), Nik Lowe (The Book Stop, St Helens), Lizz de Saulles (Max Minerva’s Marvellous Books & More, Bristol), Mel Griffin (Griffin Books, Penarth).
The Children’s categories will be judged by Alan Flack (The Wonky Tree Bookshop, Leyburn), Liz Tye (Next Page Books, Hitchin), Kayleigh Diggle (Liznojan Books, Tiverton), Emma Corfield-Walters (Book-ish, Crickhowell).
Emma Bradshaw, Head of Campaigns at the Booksellers Association, said: “We are delighted to celebrate the best paperback reads of the summer in the shortlist of the Indie Book Awards. This year’s shortlist is full of brilliant authors and as they are judged by independent booksellers, you can be sure they’ll be spot-on recommendations for your summer reading list – spanning throught-proviking non-fiction, absorbing novels, delightful picture books and entertaining children’s fiction. We encourage all book-lovers to explore the shortlist, and maybe grab a book or two from your nearest indie bookshop.”
For more information about the Indie Book Awards and previous winners, please visit https://www.booksaremybag.com/IndieBookAwards/About
Follow the latest developments via social media: #IndieBookshopWeek #IndieBookAwards @BooksAreMyBag
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