The Booksellers Association (BA) has unveiled the shortlisted titles for this year’s Indie Book Awards, the only awards curated exclusively by independent booksellers.

The awards showcase the best paperback reads for the summer across four categories – Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s Fiction and Picture Books – and celebrate the unique relationship between independent booksellers, authors and illustrators.

Commenting on this year’s award, Emma Bradshaw, head of campaigns at the BA, said: ‘At the Booksellers Association, we are continually inspired by the affinity between authors and illustrators, and independent booksellers, working together to match exceptional books with the readers who will love them most. It is a unique partnership and one that sits at the heart of everything we do.

‘It is therefore always a delight to reveal the shortlist for the Indie Book Awards, giving us the opportunity to celebrate that partnership on a national stage and shine a light on some of the most compelling books of the summer. Against the backdrop of the National Year of Reading, this work takes on added resonance, reflecting a shared commitment to embedding reading for pleasure within everyday culture and ensuring independent bookshops remain central to how readers discover, share and fall in love with books.’

The winners of each of the two children’s categories will be chosen by a panel of five independent booksellers and announced on 18th June during Independent Bookshop Week.

Congratulations to all this year’s shortlisted authors and illustrators!

Children’s Fiction Shortlist:

Tiny Hercules by Jon Lock and Nich Angell (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Quill and the Last Generation by C. M. Lewis, illustrated by Marina Vidal (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Donut Squad: Make a Mess! by Neill Cameron (DFB Phoenix)

Finn’s Epic Fails by Phil Earle, illustrated by Al Murphy (Simon & Schuster Children’s UK)

Like a Brother by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key Books)

Crow: Thief of Magic by Fiona Dixon (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Picture Book Shortlist:

Frank and Bert: The One Where Bert is Scared of Frogs by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros (Nosy Crow)

We Grew a Dragon by Emma Chinnery (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Mouse by the Sea by Alice Melvin (Thames and Hudson)

Hank Meets Frank by Maudie Powell-Tuck, illustrated by Duncan Beedie (Little Tiger)

Fox and the Mystery Letter by Alex G Griffiths (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)

For more children’s book awards, click here.