Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus was chosen as the 2022 Dymocks Book of the Year, Books+Publishing reported, adding that booksellers at the Australian bookstore chain chose the winner from a shortlist of six titles.
Kate Mayer, Dymocks fiction category manager, said Lessons in Chemistry (published in the U.S. by Doubleday) is "a cracker of a novel that ticks all the boxes of a great read--you won't want to look up once you start, you'll want to give it to everyone you know, you'll enjoy it immensely and learn from it, and you'll have a new favorite literary heroine. We can't wait for more people to fall for Elizabeth Zott as we have here at Dymocks."
Garmus commented: 'I am completely over the moon to learn Lessons in Chemistry has won Dymocks Book of the Year! To be honest, I haven't fully recovered from being shortlisted yet! Thank you to each and every Dymocks bookseller, for your beautiful store windows, your interior displays, and most of all, for putting my book in your readers' hands. I am humbled and grateful."
This year, the newly added Young Readers Book of the Year Award went to Australian author Craig Silvey's Runt. Dymocks children's category manager Hsu Tin said, "Runt is so very deserving of our first Dymocks Younger Readers Book of the Year Award. It is simply a standout story that is a charming reminder that there is always good in the world. I promise you; it will warm your heart and soul. If you buy one book for the young reader in your life this year, make it this one."