This Friday sees the award of the Independent Booksellers Book Prize, given to the writer of the book most enjoyed by customers of specialist bookshops across the UK. It is one of the less well known, but by dint of its judging panel more interesting of the literary prizes.

Last year’s adult section winner was Irène Némirovsky's Suite Française which itself had a journey into print worthy of a novel. It was written during the Second World War by an eventual concentration camp victim and then stored for more than half a century before being rediscovered and published. The 2007 children's award went to well-loved author Michael Morpurgo for his evocative emigration saga Alone on a Wide Wide Sea.

Because the winning book is chosen by public vote it is particularly hard to anticipate the eventual winner. The shortlist is below. Click on the links for audio extracts and more.

Children's book nominations:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling

Download an audio clip Read the Sunday Times review

Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman by Francesca Simon

Read the Times review

Young Bond: Hurricane Gold by Charlie Higson

Speaking about the awards, the musician, comedian and writer said: "The only proper job I've ever had was working for six months in a tiny independent bookshop in Kent - a long long time ago. Nobody works in a bookshop to get rich, you do it for the love of books."

Download an audio clip

Charlie & Lola: I'm Really Ever So Not Well by Lauren Child

Download an audio clip

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Read the Times review

Mr Gum and the Power Crystals by Andy Stanton and David Tazzyman

Paddington Here and Now by Michael Bond

Download an audio clip Paddington in the news, from The Times

Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

Download an audio clip

The Sleepwalker: (CHERUB) by Robert Muchamore

When told of the nomination the author said: “I'm delighted to have been shortlisted for this prize. Independent booksellers have been handselling my books ever since the release of The Recruit in 2004. Without this support from hundreds of Indies all across the UK, the CHERUB series never would have found the wide audience it has today.”

Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz

Download an audio clip Read the Times review

Adult book nominations:

The Gathering by Anne Enright

Read the Sunday Times review

A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr

Download an audio clip Read the Times review

I Before E (Except After C): Old-School Ways to Remember Stuff by Judy Parkinson

Read an exclusive extract

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Download an audio clip Read the Sunday Times review

Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters by Charlotte Mosley

Read the Sunday Times review

Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale

When asked about the award, Gale said: "Thanks to Richard and Judy’s magic wand, I’m one of the one-in-a-million writers to have done well out of chainstore and supermarket book outlets but I have a comet tail of a backlist these days that would really suffer if it weren’t for all those independent shops prepared to sell more than the latest title."

Read the Times review

Spilling the Beans by Clarissa Dickson-Wright

Speaking about the nomination the author said: “I love independent booksellers not only because I have been one, but also because their eclectic tastes save the nation from mental stagnation."

The author talks to The Times Read the Sunday Times review

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett says of the nomination: "No credit to me. The Queen has always been a bestseller and as The Uncommon Reader says, 'Books seldom come as well-connected as this'."

Read the Sunday Times review

The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane

Read the Sunday Times review Read an exclusive extract

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale

Download an audio clip Read the Sunday Times review Read the 1860 news report of the murder from The Times archive

Explore Books

• Book Extracts

• Book Reviews

• Books Group

• Audio Books

Times Recommends

• Superfreakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
• The Times picks the 50 best paperbacks of 2009
• Vincent van Gogh’s letters show the soul of the artist