The American Booksellers Association Announces the Winners of the Indies Choice Book Awards

Awards honor books from seven categories, all chosen by independent booksellers

HARRISON, NY, UNITED STATES, April 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 Indies Choice Book Awards.

Reflecting the spirit of independent bookstores and the IndieBound movement, the Indies Choice Book Awards are nominated and selected by booksellers from over 3,000 independent bookstores nationwide. They celebrate the best and brightest titles by authors and illustrators, showcasing the remarkable range of talent indie booksellers champion and share with readers every day.

The awards highlight titles that appeared on the ABA’s Indie Next List, Kids’ Indie Next List, and Indies Introduce list in 2025. The Indie Next List program features bookseller-recommended favorites for adults and kids from indie bookstores across the country. Twice a year, a panel of indie booksellers select 10 standout adult debut titles and 10 unforgettable debuts for young readers — including middle grade and young adult — for Indies Introduce. These three programs make up the longlist.

“ABA is thrilled to honor the 2026 Indies Choice Book Award winners. These incredible books entertained, challenged, celebrated, and stirred us last year, and they inspired the work of independent booksellers, putting books they love into readers’ hands. ABA congratulates all of the authors and illustrators and thanks the independent booksellers who participated in nominations throughout the year.” — Allison K Hill, ABA CEO

The winners of the Indies Choice Book Awards are:

Adult Fiction: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Crown)
Adult Nonfiction: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (Knopf)
Children's Picture Book: Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, Dan Santat (Illus.) (Dial Books)
Middle Grade: The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Young Adult: They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran (Bloomsbury YA)
Debut Adult: Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char Adams (Tiny Reparations Books)
Debut Children’s: Whale Eyes by James Robinson, Brian Rea (Illus.) (Penguin Workshop)

From a septuagenarian’s fictional life in letters, to the revolutionary past and vibrant future of the Black bookstore, to a Vietnamese teenager’s reckoning with monsters unearthed by climate disaster, this year’s winning titles speak to the passion independent booksellers have for bringing the best books to readers across the country.

Each winning title’s author, illustrator, and author/illustrator pair will receive $2,000.

Inquiries about the Indies Choice Book Awards can be directed to icba@bookweb.org

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About the American Booksellers Association (www.BookWeb.org)

The American Booksellers Association is a national trade association that supports and advocates for the success of independent bookstores. We provide members with education, networking opportunities, advocacy, resources, and technology. In turn our members support local schools through book fairs, donations and author visits; promote literacy; provide inclusive community centers; connect readers and books; add character to neighborhoods; champion and center diverse and new voices; and contribute to the local economy. We feel honored to support over 3,200 independent bookstores in their work.

Ray Daniels
American Booksellers Association
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