Thirteen Irish cookbooks have been shortlisted for this year's Gourmand World Cook Book awards which will be announced during the Beijing Cookbook Fair in May.

Ireland is represented by 12 books while Darina Allen's 30 Years at Ballymaloe is included in the UK list, as it is published by London-based Kyle Books. Ms Allen's brother Rory O'Connell is shortlisted for Master It – How to Cook Today.

Among the nominations are Chapter One – An Irish Food Story by Ross Lewis with photography by Barry McCall is shortlistedin the chefs category. Apron Strings – Recipes From a Family Kitchen by Nessa Robins got the nod in the category for first cook books.

Ireland is represented in the blogs category by the Goodalls book A Modern Irish Cookbook by Róisín O'Shea and Margaret Smith. Employees in the Starwood Hotels customer contact centre in Cork were shortlisted for Simply Starwood, From Our Kitchens to Yours.

Dermot Seberry's Ireland – A Culinary Journey in the North East gets the nod in both local cuisine and culinary travel. Ireland is represented in the foreign cuisine category with The International Charity Bazaar Cookbook compiled by Siobhán Denham, which has also been shortlisted in the charity and fundraising category and the foreign cuisine category.

The Little Fighters Cookbook written by transition-year student Chloe Kelleher to raise funds for Our Lady's Hospital Crumlin is also in this category.

The Healthy Ways Cookbook and Lifestyle Guide by Claire Kerins and Neil Johnson will be up against Gwyneth Paltrow's It's All Good in the health and nutrition category. From Lynda's Table by Lynda Booth has been nominated in the easy recipes category and will be competing with Jamie Oliver's latest offering, Save with Jamie.

Rozanne Stevens has been nominated in the barbecue category for Relish Barbecue, while Blazing Salads 2 by Lorraine Fitzmaurice has been nominated in the vegetarian category.