Craig Silvey's work about a horrific death in a country town has won him the Australian Book of the Year award.

His book "Jasper Jones" claimed the booksellers' and publishers' top award last night in Sydney, signifying a fruitful year for publisher Allen & Unwin, which was hailed as the publisher of the year. Meanwhile, chairman Patrick Gallagher was given the Lloyd O'Neil Award for his exemplary service to the book industry.

Silvey, who was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, is currently in Spain where the book "Jasper Jones" is being published and translated into Chinese, Korean, French and Italian. The book, which talks about the consequences of a death on a group of young boys who try to untangle the mysteries behind it, has been acclaimed as a "quintessentially Australian page-turner". It won the top prize last year in the Independent Booksellers's Indie Awards.

According to Fiona Stager, the outgoing president of the Australian Booksellers Association, the evolution of the industry's award system on recognising the growing importance of e-books in the market was notable.