Winners have been announced for the American Booksellers Association's 2026 Indies Choice Book Awards. Titles were nominated and selected by booksellers from more than 3,000 independent bookstores nationwide. The winning author or author and illustrator in each of seven categories receives $2,000.
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 CEO Allison Hill said, "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."
The winners:
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, illus. by Dan Santat (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, illus. by Brian Rea (Penguin Workshop)