Today we announce the shortlists for this year's EDP-Jarrold East Anglian Book Awards, highlighting 21 of the best new books inspired by our region.

The winners will be announced at the prize-giving ceremony at Norwich's Assembly House on November 15, hosted by Nina Nannar, the arts and entertainment reporter for the national ITV News.

Novelist Sophie Hannah, whose psychological thrillers inspired ITV's Case Sensitive television series, will give a speech and present prizes.

The books shortlisted for the fifth annual East Anglian Book Awards, supported by Writers' Centre Norwich, are:

Fiction – judged by B J Epstein, lecturer in literature and translation at UEA.

Ninepins, by Rosy Thornton (published by Sandstone Press).

Weirdo, by Cathi Unsworth (Serpent's Tail).

Black Shuck, by Piers Warren (Wildeye).

Poetry – judged by George Szirtes, poet, translator and critic.

Appearances in the Bentinck Hotel, by Tim Cockburn (Salt Publishing).

The Mountains of Norfolk: Selected Poems, by Kevin Crossley-Holland (Enitharmon).

The Departure, by Chris Emery (Salt Publishing).

History and Tradition – judged by Carole Rawcliffe, professor of English history at UEA.

The Norwich Knowledge, by Michael Loveday (Michael Loveday).

Strangers: A History of Norwich's Incomers, by Frank Meeres (Norwich HEART).

Norwich: A Shattered City, by Steve Snelling (Halsgrove).

Biography and Memoir – judged by D J Taylor, novelist, biographer and critic.

At the Yeoman's House, by Ronald Blythe (Enitharmon).

From Osborne House to Wheatfen Broad: Memoirs of Phyllis Ellis, edited by Pete Kelley (Wheatfen Books).

Travelling Towards War: John Ashford's Journeys from Norfolk to Central Europe, 1938 and 1939, by Yvonne Morton (Troubador Publishing).

Nature and Places – judged by Mike Toms, EDP nature columnist and British Trust for Ornithology manager.

How Hill: Heart of the Broads, by David Holmes (How Hill Trust).

Bumblebees of Norfolk, by Nick Owens and David Richmond (Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society).

The Last Hunters, by Candy Whittome (Full Circle Editions).

Art and Photography – judged by Mary Muir, Norfolk County Council arts officer.

Tidelines, by Ian Collins (Jardine Press).

North Norfolk: A Painted Landscape, by Rachel Lockwood (Red Hare Publishing).

Glynn Thomas: East Anglia, A Different Perspective, by Alan Marshall (Mascot Media).

Travel and Guidebooks – judged by Vanessa Scott, owner of Strattons hotel and member of Norfolk Tourism board.

The By-Mistake Guide to Norfolk, by Jim, assisted by Caroline Davison (Black Dog Books).

The Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path, by Bruce Robinson with Mike Robinson (Aurum).

Kiddiwalks in Norfolk, by Angela Youngman (Countryside Books).

Tickets for the ceremony are on sale at Jarrold, priced �15, which include a glass of wine on arrival and a hot buffet meal. Tickets may be purchased from customer services on 01603 660661 or via www.jarrold.co.uk

For more about the awards see www.edp24.co.uk/bookawards

Keiron Pim speaks to BBC presenter Jeremy Vine ahead of his appearance at the UEA Literary Festival tonight – see EDP2.