Some of Ireland’s best-known chefs are short-liste for the first time in the Irish Book Awards.

A new category, the Avonmore Cookbook of the Year, has been added to the list and six celebrity cooks have been nominated for the inaugural award.

The chefs are — Rachel Allen (Cake), Donal Skehan (Kitchen Hero: Great Food for Less), Domini Kemp (Domini at Home), Catherine Fulvio (Eat Like an Italian), Neven Maguire (The MacNean Restaurant Cookbook) and Aoife Carrigy (ICA Cookbook).

The shortlist for the 2012 Bord Gáis Energy-sponsored awards announced yesterday includes acclaimed novelists John Banville, Edna O’Brien, Emma O’Donoghue, Joseph O’Connor, Cecelia Ahern, Tana French and Kevin Barry.

There is also a wide range of memoirs from Irish political and sporting figures including former president Mary Robinson, Senator David Norris, sporting commentator Jimmy Magee, Olympic star Katie Taylor and rugby legend John Hayes.