Australia’s favourite young adult authors shortlisted for Inky Awards

The Centre for Youth Literature at State Library Victoria announced the shortlist for the 2015 Inky Awards for young adult literature at the Melbourne Writers Festival yesterday.

The 2015 Inky Awards shortlist includes five Australian and five international youth literature books. The Australian novelists are eligible for the Gold Inky Award and a $2,000 prize. International books are eligible for the Silver Inky Award.

The shortlist was selected from a longlist of 20 novels by a panel of seven teen judges from around Australia. The judges assessed the quality of the storyline, the authentic nature of the characters and the tone of the dialogue in each book.

Centre for Youth Literature Manager Anna Burkey says the Inky Awards encourage teens to read for pleasure and share the stories they enjoy with their peers.

“Now in their ninth year, the Inky Awards give young people an opportunity to celebrate the books that speak to them. Unlike book prizes chosen by committee, the Inky Awards let the readers be the judge, and recognise recommendations from peers are a powerful tool for encouraging young people to read.

"This year, our panel of teen judges chose five Australian novels written by women and centered on female characters, which while unusual also reflects how stories about gender and sexuality diversity can resonate with everyone.

“Many of the books on this year’s shortlist were unanimously chosen by all the judges, which is a very rare occurrence and speaks to the calibre of the writing this year,” she said.

Gold Inky Award Shortlist

The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil (Hardie Grant Egmont)

Razorhurst by Justine Larbalestier (Allen & Unwin)

Laurinda by Alice Pung (Black Inc)

The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer (HarperCollins Publishers)

The Protected by Claire Zorn (University of Queensland Press)

Silver Inky Award Shortlist

Bird by Crystal Chan (Text Publishing)

Spark by Rachael Craw (Walker Books)

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (Allen & Unwin)

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson (Simon & Schuster)

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (PanMacmillan)

Teen readers can vote for their favourite books and determine the winners online. The Inky Awards shortlist is now available on the State Library’s youth literature website insideadog.com.au

Voting closes on September 27 2015 at 5pm EST and the winners will be announced at State Library Victoria on October 13 2015.

The Inky Awards were established in 2007 as Australia’s first national teen choice awards for young adult literature.

Information for editors

The Centre for Youth Literature at the State Library of Victoria connects Australia’s young people with literature, inspiring young adults to engage with books, stories, writing and ideas. In addition to the Inky Awards, major projects include:

insideadog.com.au is Australia’s best-loved website for books and reading for young people. Insideadog is a project of the Centre for Youth Literature and is proudly supported by the Australia Council and the State Government of Victoria.