The Ned Kelly Awards (named for bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to reward excellence in the field of crime writing within Australia.
| Ned Kelly Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Excellence in Australian Crime fiction & true crime |
| Country | Australia |
| Presented by | Crime Writers Association of Australia |
| First awarded | 1996 |
| Website | http://www.nedkellyawards.com  |
The genre of crime writing has long been popular, but it was not until the early 1990s that a local growth of writing within the genre occurred in Australia. By the middle of the decade support for the field had grown sufficiently that it was decided to establish the Ned Kelly Awards.
The awards are affectionately referred to as 'The Neddies' within the community.
Categories
- Best First Novel
- Best True Crime
- Best Novel
- Best Teenage/Young Adult
- Readers Vote
- Best Non-Fiction
- Lifetime Achievement Awards
Winners
1990s
| Year | Best Novel | Best First Novel | Best Non-Fiction | Lifetime Achievement | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Malcontenta by Barry Maitland | Dark Angel by John Dale | — | Jon Cleary | [2] |
| Inside Dope by Paul Thomas | |||||
| 1997 | The Brush-Off by Shane Maloney | Bad Debts by Peter Temple[3] | How to Write Crime edited by Marele Day | Alan Yates (aka Carter Brown) | [4] |
| Get Rich Quick by Peter Doyle | |||||
| 1998 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | Amaze Your Friends by Peter Doyle | The Last Days by Andrew Masterson | — | Peter Corris | [5] |
2000s
| Year | Best Novel | Best First Novel | Best True Crime | Best Teenage /Young Adult | Reader's Vote | Lifetime Achievement | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Shooting Star by Peter Temple[3] | The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders by Marshall Browne | (tie) Huckstepp: A Dangerous Life by John Dale Underbelly 3 by Andrew Rule and John Silvester |
— | — | — | [6] |
| 2001 | (tie) Dead Point by Peter Temple[3] The Second Coming by Andrew Masterson |
Last Drinks by Andrew McGahan | Broken Lives by Estelle Blackburn | — | Bleeding Hearts by Lindy Cameron | Stephen Knight | [7] |
| 2002 | Death Delights by Gabrielle Lord | (tie) Apartment 255 by Bunty Avieson Who Killed Angelique? by Emma Darcy |
(tie) Razor by Larry Writer The Hanged Man by Mike Richards |
Blue Murder by Ken Catran | Apartment 255 by Bunty Avieson | Patrick Gallagher | [8] |
| 2003 | White Dog by Peter Temple[3] | Blood Redemption by Alex Palmer | Blood Stain by Peter Lalor | — | — | Kerry Greenwood | [9] |
| 2004 | Degrees of Connection by Jon Cleary | (tie) The Walker by Jane R. Goodall Junkie Pilgrim by Wayne Grogan |
Killing Juanita by Peter Rees | — | — | Bob Bottom | [10] |
| 2005 | Lost by Michael Robotham | A Private Man by Malcolm Knox | (tie) Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner Mr Big by Tony Reeves |
— | — | Stuart Coupe | [11] |
| 2006 | (tie) Crook as Rookwood by Chris Nyst The Broken Shore by Peter Temple[3] |
Out of the Silence by Wendy James | Packing Death by Lauchlin McCulloch | — | — | Andrew Rule and John Silvester | [12] |
| 2007 | Chain of Evidence by Garry Disher | Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland | (tie) Written On The Skin by Liz Porter Killing For Pleasure: The Definitive Story of the Snowtown Murders by Debi Marshall |
— | — | Sandra Harvey and Lindsay Simpson | [13] |
| 2008 | Shatter by Michael Robotham | The Low Road by Chris Womersley | Red Centre, Dark Heart by Evan McHugh | — | — | Marele Day | [14] |
| 2009 | Deep Water by Peter Corris and Smoke and Mirrors by Kel Robertson |
Ghostlines by Nick Gadd | The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper | — | — | Shane Maloney | [15] |
2010s
| Year | Best Novel | Best First Novel | Best True Crime | Lifetime Achievement | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Wyatt by Garry Disher | King of the Cross by Mark Dapin | Pitcairn: Paradise Lost by Kathy Marks | Peter Doyle | [16] |
| 2011 | The Diggers Rest Hotel by Geoffrey McGeachin | Prime Cut by Alan Carter | Abandoned - The Sad Death of Dianne Brimble by Geesche Jacobsen | NA | [17][18] |
| 2012 | Pig Boy by J. C. Burke | The Cartographer by Peter Twohig | Sins of the Father: The Untold Story Behind Schapelle Corby's Ill-Fated Drug Run by Eamonn Duff | Gabrielle Lord | [19] |
| 2013 | Blackwattle Creek by Geoffrey McGeachin | The Midnight Promise by Zane Lovitt | The People Smuggler by Robin de Crespigny | NA | [20] |
| 2014 | In the Morning I'll Be Gone by Adrian McKinty | Hades by Candice Fox | Murder in Mississippi by John Safran | NA | [21] |
| 2015 | Eden by Candice Fox | Quota by Jock Serong | This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial by Helen Garner | NA | [22][23] |
| 2016 | Before It Breaks by Dave Warner | Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic | Certain Admissions by Gideon Haigh | NA | [24] |
| 2017 | Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty | The Dry by Jane Harper | (tie) Getting Away With Murder by Duncan McNab The Drowned Man by Brendan James Murray |
NA | [25][26] |
| 2018 | Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill | The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey | Unmaking a Murder: The Mysterious Death of Anna-Jane Cheney by Graham Archer | Garry Disher | [27][28] |
| 2019 | The Lost Man by Jane Harper | The Rúin by Dervla McTiernan | Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee | Bob Bottom | [29][30] |
2020s
| Year | Best Novel | Best First Novel | Best True Crime | Best International Crime | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Wife and the Widow by Christian White | Present Tense by Natalie Conyer | Bowraville by Dan Box | The Chain by Adrian McKinty | [31][32] |
| 2021 | Consolation by Garry Disher | The Second Son by Loraine Peck | Stalking Claremont by Bret Christian | We Begin at the End by Chris Whittaker | [33][34] |
| 2022 | The Chase by Candice Fox | Banjawarn by Josh Kemp | Banquet: The Untold Story of Adelaide's Family Murders by Debi Marshall | The Maid by Nita Prose | [35][36] |
| 2023 | Exiles by Jane Harper | Wake by Shelley Burr | Betrayed by Sandi Logan | The Lemon Man by Keith Bruton | [37][38] |
| 2024 | Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth | Murder in the Pacific: Ifira Point by Matt Francis | Crossing the Line by Nick McKenzie | The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish | [39] |
Shortlists
Best Crime Novel
2010s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Garry Disher | Wyatt | Winner | [16] |
| Lenny Bartulin | The Black Russian | Finalist | [40] | |
| Michael Robotham | Bleed For Me | |||
| 2011 | Geoffrey McGeachin | The Diggers Rest Hotel | Winner | [17][18] |
| Angela Savage | The Half-Child | Finalist | ||
| Chris Womersley | Bereft | |||
| 2012 | J. C. Burke | Pig Boy | Winner | [19] |
| Malcolm Knox | The Life | Finalist | [41] | |
| Barry Maitland | Chelsea Mansions | |||
| 2013 | Geoffrey McGeachin | Blackwattle Creek | Winner | [20] |
| Robert Gott | The Holiday Murders | Finalist | [42] | |
| Katherine Howell | Web of Deceit | |||
| Adrian McKinty | I Hear The Sirens In The Street | |||
| Malla Nunn | Silent Valley | |||
| 2014 | Adrian McKinty | In The Morning I'll Be Gone | Winner | [21] |
| Garry Disher | Bitter Wash Road | Finalist | [43][44] | |
| Kathryn Fox | Fatal Impact | |||
| PM Newton | Beams Falling | |||
| Stephen Orr | One Boy Missing | |||
| Angela Savage | The Dying Beach | |||
| 2015 | Candice Fox | Eden | Winner | [22][23] |
| Peter Docker | Sweet One | Finalist | [45] | |
| Sulari Gentill | A Murder Unmentioned | |||
| Barry Maitland | Crucifixion Creek | |||
| Adrian McKinty | Gun Street Girl | |||
| Malla Nunn | Present Darkness | |||
| 2016 | Dave Warner | Before It Breaks | Winner | [24] |
| Mark Dapin | R&R | Finalist | [46] | |
| Garry Disher | The Heat | |||
| Candice Fox | Fall | |||
| Barry Maitland | Ash Island | |||
| Adrian McKinty | Rain Dogs | |||
| 2017 | Adrian McKinty | Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly | Winner | [25][26] |
| Candice Fox | Crimson Lake | Finalist | [47] | |
| Wendy James | The Golden Child | |||
| Emily Maguire | An Isolated Incident | |||
| Jock Serong | The Rules of Backyard Cricket | |||
| Ann Turner | Out of the Ice | |||
| 2018 | Sulari Gentill | Crossing the Lines | Winner | [27][28] |
| Alan Carter | Marlborough Man | Finalist | [48] | |
| Garry Disher | Under Cold Bright Lights | |||
| Candice Fox | Redemption Point | |||
| Anna George | The Lone Child | |||
| Iain Ryan | The Student | |||
| 2019 | Jane Harper | The Lost Man | Winner | [29][30] |
| Garry Disher | Kill Shot: A Wyatt Thriller | Finalist | [49][50] | |
| Candice Fox | Gone by Midnight | |||
| Kerry Greenwood | The Spotted Dog | |||
| Michael Robotham | The Other Wife | |||
| Sue Williams | Live and Let Fry |
2020s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Christian White | The Wife and the Widow | Winner | [31][32] |
| Pip Drysdale | The Strangers We Know | Finalist | [51] | |
| Nick Gadd | Death of a Typographer | |||
| Dervla McTiernan | The Scholar | |||
| Dave Warner | River of Salt | |||
| David Whish-Wilson | True West | |||
| 2021 | Garry Disher | Consolation | Winner | [33][34] |
| Candice Fox | Gathering Dark | Finalist | [52] | |
| Sulari Gentill | A Testament of Character | |||
| Jane Harper | The Survivors | |||
| Dervla McTiernan | The Good Turn | |||
| J P Pomare | Tell Me Lies | |||
| Michael Robotham | When She Was Good | |||
| Sarah Thornton | White Throat | |||
| 2022 | Candice Fox | The Chase | Winner | [35][36] |
| Tim Ayliffe | The Enemy Within | Finalist | [53] | |
| Mark Brandi | The Others | |||
| B M Carroll | You Had it Coming | |||
| Jack Heath | Kill Your Brother | |||
| Debra Oswald | The Family Doctor | |||
| Kyle Perry | The Deep | |||
| 2023 | Jane Harper | Exiles | Winner | [37][38] |
| Aoife Clifford | When We Fall | Finalist | [54] | |
| Chris Hammer | The Tilt | |||
| Sally Hepworth | Soulmate | |||
| Katherine Kovacic | Seven Sisters | |||
| Michael Robotham | Lying Beside You | |||
| Emma Viskic | Those Who Perish | |||
| Greg Woodland | The Carnival Is Over | |||
| 2024 | Sally Hepworth | Darling Girls | Winner | [39] |
| Tim Ayliffe | Killer Traitor Spy | Finalist | [55] | |
| Ashley Kalagian Blunt | Dark Mode | |||
| Shelley Burr | Ripper | |||
| Megan Goldin | Dark Corners | |||
| Chris Hammer | The Seven | |||
| Amanda Hampson | The Tea Ladies | |||
| Benjamin Stevenson | Everyone On This Train is a Suspect |
Best Debut Crime Novel
2010s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Mark Dapin | King of the Cross | Winner | [16] |
| Robin Adair | Death and the Running Patterer | Finalist | [40] | |
| Andrew Coome | Document Z | |||
| 2011 | Alan Carter | Prime Cut | Winner | [17][18] |
| P.M. Newton | The Old School | Finalist | ||
| David Whish-Wilson | Line of Sight | |||
| 2012 | Peter Twohig | The Cartographer | Winner | [19] |
| Claire Corbett | When We Have Wings | Finalist | [41] | |
| Kim Westwood | The Courier's New Bicycle | |||
| 2013 | Zane Lovitt | The Midnight Promise | Winner | [20] |
| Paul Anderson | The Robbers | Finalist | [42] | |
| Andrew Grimes | The Richmond Conspiracy | |||
| Steve Lewis and Chris Uhlmann | The Marmalade Files | |||
| Sue Williams | Murder with the Lot | |||
| 2014 | Candice Fox | Hades | Winner | [21] |
| Peter Cotton | Dead Cat Bounce | Finalist | [43][44] | |
| Alex Hammond | Blood Witness | |||
| Ellie Marney | Every Breath | |||
| 2015 | Jock Serong | Quota | Winner | [22][23] |
| Nigel Bartlett | King of the Road | Finalist | [45] | |
| Anna George | What Came Before | |||
| Nicholas J. Johnson | Chasing the Ace | |||
| 2016 | Emma Viskic | Resurrection Bay | Winner | [24] |
| Tania Chandler | Please Don't Leave Me Here | Finalist | [46] | |
| J. M. Green | Good Money | |||
| Mark Hollands | Amplify | |||
| Gary Kemble | Skin Deep | |||
| Iain Ryan | Four Days | |||
| 2017 | Jane Harper | The Dry | Winner | [25][26] |
| Ron Elliott | Burn Patterns | Finalist | ||
| Andy Muir | Something for Nothing | |||
| Anna Snoekstra | Only Daughter | |||
| Holly Throsby | Goodwood | |||
| Laura Elizabeth Woollett | The Love of a Bad Man | |||
| 2018 | Sarah Bailey | The Dark Lake | Winner | [27][28] |
| Mark Brandi | Wimmera | Finalist | [48] | |
| Megan Goldin | The Girl in Keller's Way | |||
| Sarah Schmidt | See What I Have Done | |||
| 2019 | Dervla McTiernan | The Rúin | Winner | [29][30] |
| Katherine Kovacic | The Portrait of Molly Dean | Finalist | [49][50] | |
| Emily O'Grady | The Yellow House | |||
| Ben Stevenson | Greenlight |
2020s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Natalie Conyer | Present Tense | Winner | [31][32] |
| Susan Hurley | Eight Lives | Finalist | [51] | |
| Karina Kilmore | Where the Truth Lies | |||
| R W R McDonald | The Nancys | |||
| Petronella McGovern | Six Minutes | |||
| Sarah Thornton | Lapse | |||
| 2021 | Lorraine Peck | The Second Son | Winner | [33][34] |
| Rae Cairns | The Good Mother | Finalist | [52] | |
| Kyle Perry | The Bluffs | |||
| Greg Woodlands | The Night Whistler | |||
| 2022 | Josh Kemp | Banjawarn | Winner | [35][36] |
| Bryan Brown | Sweet Jimmy | Finalist | [53] | |
| Suzanne Frankham | Shadow Over Edmund Street | |||
| Margaret Hickey | Cutters End | |||
| 2023 | Shelley Burr | Wake | Winner | [37][38] |
| Jo Dixon | The House of Now and Then | Finalist | [54] | |
| Joanna Jenkins | How to Kill a Client | |||
| Kerryn Mayne | Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder | |||
| Hayley Scrivenor | Dirt Town | |||
| Matthew Spencer | Black River | |||
| Emma Styles | No Country for Girls | |||
| James McKenzie Watson | Denizen | |||
| 2024 | Matt Francis | Murder in the Pacific: Ifira Point | Winner | [39] |
| Fiona Britton | Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl | Finalist | [55] | |
| Lucy Campbell | Lowbridge | |||
| Rhys Gard | Four Dogs Missing | |||
| Troy Hunter | Gus and the Missing Boy | |||
| Darcy Tindale | The Fall Between | |||
| P. A. Thomas | The Beacon |
Best International Crime Novel
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Adrian McKinty | The Chain | Winner | [31][32] |
| 2021 | Chris Whitaker | We Begin at the End | Winner | [33][34] |
| Lucy Foley | The Guest List | Finalist | [52] | |
| Charity Norman | The Secrets of Strangers | |||
| Sara Sligar | Take Me Apart | |||
| Don Winslow | Broken | |||
| 2022 | Nita Prose | The Maid | Winner | [35][36] |
| Graeme Macrae Burnet | Case Study | Finalist | [53] | |
| Ann Cleeves | The Heron's Cry | |||
| Hans Rosenfeldt | Cry Wolf | |||
| 2023 | Keith Bruton | The Lemon Man | Winner | [37][38] |
| Tom Baragwanath | Paper Cage | Finalist | [54] | |
| Nicci French | The Favour | |||
| Gerwin van der Werf | The Hitchhiker | |||
| 2024 | Louise Candlish | The Only Suspect | Winner | [39] |
| Claire Baylis | Dice | Finalist | [55] | |
| Eleanor Catton | Birnam Wood | |||
| Michael Connelly | Resurrection Walk | |||
| Hannah Richell | The Search Party | |||
| Ruth Ware | Zero Days |
Best True Crime
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Kathy Marks | Pitcairn: Paradise Lost | Winner | [16] |
| Peter Doyle | Crooks like Us | Finalist | [40] | |
| Robert M. Kaplan | Medical Murder: Disturbing Cases of Doctors Who Kill | |||
| 2011 | Geesche Jacobson | Abandoned: The Sad Death of Dianne Brimble | Winner | [17][18] |
| Ross Honeywill | Wasted | Finalist | ||
| Lindsay Simpson and Jennifer Cooke | Honeymoon Dive | |||
| 2012 | Eamonn Duff | Sins of the Father | Winner | [19] |
| Michael Duffy | Call Me Cruel | Finalist | [41] | |
| Liz Porter | Cold Case File | |||
| 2013 | Robin de Crespigny | The People Smuggler | Winner | [20] |
| Belinda Hawkins | Every Parent's Nightmare | Finalist | [42] | |
| Steve Lillebuen | The Devil's Cinema | |||
| Derek Pedley | Dead by Friday | |||
| Mark Tedeschi | Eugenia | |||
| 2014 | John Safran | Murder in Mississippi | Winner | [21] |
| Paul Dale | Disgraced? | Finalist | [43][44] | |
| John Kidman and Denise Hofman | Forever Nine | |||
| Eleanor Learmonth and Jenny Tabakoff | No Mercy | |||
| Colin McLaren | JFK: The Smoking Gun | |||
| Duncan McNab | Outlaw Bikers in Australia | |||
| 2015 | Helen Garner | This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial | Winner | [22][23] |
| Amy Dale | The Fall | Finalist | [45] | |
| Debi Marshall | The Family Court Murders | |||
| Kate McClymont and Linton Besser | He Who Must Be Obeid | |||
| David Murray | The Murder of Allison Baden-Clay | |||
| Liam Pieper | The Feel-Good Hit of the Year | |||
| 2016 | Gideon Haigh | Certain Admissions | Winner | [24] |
| Kate Kyriacou | The Sting | Finalist | [46] | |
| Martin Mckenzie-Murray | A Murder Without Motive | |||
| Rebecca Poulson | Killing Love | |||
| Mark Tedeschi | Kidnapped | |||
| 2017 | Duncan McNab | Getting Away with Murder | Winner | [26] |
| Brendan James Murray | The Drowned Man | |||
| Colin Dillon | Code of Silence | Finalist | ||
| Duncan McNab | Roger Rogerson | |||
| Terry Smyth | Denny Day | |||
| Mark Tedeschi | Murder at Myall Creek | |||
| 2018 | Graham Archer | Unmaking A Murder: The Mysterious Death of Anna Jane Cheney | Winner | [27][28] |
| Mark Abernethy | The Contractor | Finalist | [48] | |
| Tanya Bretherton | The Suitcase Baby | |||
| Gabriella Coslovich | Whiteley on Trial | |||
| Campbell McConachie | The Fatalist | |||
| 2019 | Bri Lee | Eggshell Skull | Winner | [29] |
| Chloe Hooper | The Arsonist | Finalist | [49][50] | |
| Deborah Snow | Siege: Inside the Lindt Cafe | |||
| Kate Wild | Waiting for Elijah | |||
| 2020 | Dan Box | Bowraville | Winner | [31][32] |
| Kate McClymont | Dead Man Walking: The murky world of Michael McGurk and Ron Medich | Finalist | [51] | |
| Phillip Roope and Kevin Meagher | Shark Arm | |||
| Angela Williams | Snakes and Ladders | |||
| 2021 | Bret Christian | Stalking Claremont: Inside the hunt for a serial killer | Winner | [33][34] |
| Tanya Bretherton | The Husband Poisoner | Finalist | [52] | |
| Mark Dapin | Public Enemies | |||
| Tom Doig | Hazelwood | |||
| Louise Milligan | Witness | |||
| 2022 | Debi Marshall | Banquet: The untold story of Adelaide's family murders | Winner | [35][36] |
| Caroline Graham and Kylie Stevenson | Larrimah | Finalist | [53] | |
| Amani Haydar | The Mother Wound | |||
| Drew Rooke | A Witness of Fact | |||
| 2023 | Sandi Logan | Betrayed | Winner | [37][38] |
| Officer A | Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! | Finalist | [54] | |
| Ellis Gunn | Rattled | |||
| Megan Norris | Out of the Ashes | |||
| Geoff Plunkett | Death Row at Truro | |||
| 2024 | Nick McKenzie | Crossing the Line | Winner | [39] |
| Michael Adams | The Murder Squad | Finalist | [55] | |
| Marele Day | Reckless | |||
| David Marr | Killing for Country | |||
| Hedley Thomas | The Teacher's Pet |
See also
References
External links
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