The Indies Choice Book Award (formerly known as Book Sense Book of the Year 2000-2008) is an American literary award that was inaugurated at BookExpo America 2000. The American Booksellers Association (ABA) rededicated the award (previously known as the ABBY) in recognition of a new era in bookselling, as well as the important role the Book Sense Picks List has played for independent booksellers in discovering and spreading the word about books of quality to all stores, and readers, nationwide. Throughout the year, Book Sense independent booksellers from across the country nominate for inclusion in the monthly Book Sense Picks the books that they most enjoyed hand-selling to their customers. The books on each list represent a combined national and local staff pick selection of booksellers' favorites from more than 1,200 independent bookstores with Book Sense.
The award was renamed the Indies Choice Book Award in 2009. They winners are announced in conjunction with the The E.B. White Read Aloud Award
2016
ADULT FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
Fates and Furies: A Novel, by Lauren Groff (Riverhead)
ADULT NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Spiegel & Grau)
ADULT DEBUT BOOK OF THE YEAR
Kitchens of the Great Midwest: A Novel, by J. Ryan Stradal (Pamela Dorman Books/Viking)
YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR
Anna and the Swallow Man, by Gavriel Savit (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson (HarperTeen)
INDIE CHAMPION AWARD
Richard Russo
PICTURE BOOK HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Eloise, by Kay Thompson, Hilary Knight (Illus.) (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Olivia, by Ian Falconer (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Strega Nona, by Tomi dePaola (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William Stieg (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Adult Fiction Honor Books
City on Fire: A Novel, by Garth Risk Hallberg (Knopf)
Get in Trouble: Stories, by Kelly Link (Random House)
A Little Life: A Novel, by Hanya Yanagihara (Doubleday)
The Sympathizer: A Novel, by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Grove Press)
Welcome to Braggsville: A Novel, by T. Geronimo Johnson (William Morrow)
Adult Nonfiction Honor Books
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, by Erik Larson (Crown)
Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt, by Kristin Hersh (University of Texas Press)
H Is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald (Grove Press)
Hold Still: A Memoir With Photographs, by Sally Mann (Little, Brown & Company)
Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye: A Journey, by Marie Mutsuki Mockett (W.W. Norton & Company)
Adult Debut Honor Books
Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, by Mary Norris (W.W. Norton & Company)
Dragonfish: A Novel, by Vu Tran (W.W. Norton & Company)
The Meursault Investigation: A Novel, by Kamel Daoud (Other Press)
Our Endless Numbered Days: A Novel, by Claire Fuller (Tin House Books)
The Turner House: A Novel, by Angela Flournoy (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Young Adult Honor Books
Dumplin’, by Julie Murphy (Balzer + Bray)
More Happy Than Not, by Adam Silvera (Soho Teen)
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli (Balzer + Bray)
Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad, by M.T. Anderson (Candlewick)
Indie Champion Honorees
Dave Eggers
Louise Erdrich
Loren Long
Celeste Ng
Maggie Stiefvater
2012
Adult Fiction: The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Adult Nonfiction: Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, by Gabrielle Hamilton (Random House)
Adult Debut: The Tiger’s Wife, by Téa Obreht (Random House)
Young Adult: Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys (Philomel)
Most Engaging Author: Ann Patchett
Middle Reader: The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy, Ian Schoenherr (Illus.) (Putnam Juvenile) and Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis (Illus.) (Balzer + Bray)
Picture Book: I Want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press)
Picture Book Hall of Fame Inductees:
Curious George, by H.A. Rey (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper (Grosset & Dunlap / Philomel)
Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney (Viking Juvenile/Puffin)
2011
Adult Fiction: Room, Emma Donoghue
Adult Nonfiction: Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
Adult Debut: Matterhorn, Karl Marlantes
Young Adult: Revolution, Jennifer Donnelly
2010
Adult Fiction: Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese
Adult Nonfiction: The Lost City of Z, David Grann
Adult Debut: The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Young Adult: Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
Middle Reader: When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead
New Picture Book: The Lion & the Mouse, Jerry Pinkney
Most Engaging Author: Kate DiCamillo
2009
Best Indie Buzz Book (Fiction): The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Best Conversation Starter (Nonfiction): The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell
Best Author Discovery: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, David Wroblewski
Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book (Fiction): The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Best New Picture Book: Bats at the Library, Brian Lies
Most Engaging Author: Sherman Alexie
2008 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
2007 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
2006 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
2005 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
2003 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
2002 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
2001 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
2000 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
