Dymocks announced ‘Honeybee’ by Craig Silvey as its 2020 Book of the Year.
Dymocks booksellers across Australia voted for the books they loved most this year. Silvey’s book was the clear winner from a shortlist of 6, achieving 40% more votes than the runner-up.
Kate Mayor, Dymocks Category Manager, said the book was a worthy winner, deserving of bestseller status.
“’Honeybe’e is nothing short of a Great Australian Novel. It has unforgettable characters, a depth of emotion that plummets and soars, and a beautifully told story that will make you feel richer for having read it. Our booksellers know a true classic when they read one, and their overwhelming response to ‘Honeybee’ speaks for itself. Here at Dymocks we want to congratulate author Craig Silvey, who is an incredibly talented Australian storyteller and worthy winner of our Book of the Year.”
Kate Mayor said the announcement will not only have signficant impact on Dymocks sales but also across the wider book market. Last year’s winner, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was at #252 in the bookscan charts the week prior to announcement as 2019 Book of the Year. By the end of January 2020 it was the #3 book in the country.
Sales of 2018 winner, ‘Boy Swallows Universe’, tripled in the week after it was announced, catapulting it to bestseller status. Sales to date across Dymocks network have topped 47,000.
On winning the prestigious award, Craig Silvey said, “I’m thrilled and deeply honoured that HONEYBEE has been awarded Dymocks Book of the Year, particularly given the calibre and talent possessed by the shortlisted writers. My sincere gratitude to Dymocks Books – not only for their belief in HONEYBEE, but for their continued support and advocacy for Australian authors and their stories.”
Kate Mayor said the best thing about Dymocks Book of the Year is helping a book we love find a whole new audience of readers.
“With our previous winners ‘Boy Swallows Univers’e and ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’, we have shown that our Dymocks Book of the Year makes bestsellers. The special ingredient there is that our Well-read team know the kind of stories that truly resonate with our Booklovers and with the wider community. And our staff love nothing more than sharing their favourite reads with you. We had such a stellar shortlist of books by Australian authors this year, which speaks to the strength of our homegrown talent. Dymocks are really proud to play our part in getting these books into the hands of readers.”
Featured image: Craig Silvey