Carmel Shute - Sisters in Crime Australia

24th Davitt Awards: Readers’ Choice Vote opens 14 June

Voting for Sisters in Crime’s Davitt Readers’ Choice Award opens to financial members from 14 June.
An impressive 152 books are competing in Sisters in Crime’s 24th Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books. Six Davitt Awards will be presented at a gala dinner at South Melbourne’s Rising Sun Hotel on Saturday 31 August by award-winning author and global publishing phenomenon, Sulari Gentill. Voting closes Wednesday 31 July, 11.59 pm. The Davitts are again supported by Swinburne University of Technology.

BOOKED OUT! Celebration: 24th Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women

Proudly supported by Swinburne University of Technology. Frock up (or suit up) and join us for an à la carte dinner as we present Sisters in Crime’s 24th Davitt Awards, 6.00 for 6.30 pm, Saturday 31 August. This year, our guest presenter is award-winning author, Sulari Gentill.

Deep in your subconscious: Erina Reddan

Erina Reddan was writing a book on cults – the one that eventually became Deep in the Forest (Pantera Press) a crime thriller about secrets, lies and cults. Not having any first-hand knowledge of cultliving, Erina started researching. What she found was so explosive that she had to do more and more to corroborate what her brain could barely compute . . .

Small-town secrets: Nikki Mottram

For the June Author Spotlight, Poppy Gee spoke to Toowoomba author, Nikki Mottram, about her twisty plots, the rollercoaster ride of the publishing industry, and the thrill of visiting her publisher’s office for the first time. Like her debut novel Crows Nest, her just-published novel, Killarney, is a gripping, small-town mystery with the kind of tightly crafted surprises that make you flick back the pages to see the plot mechanics with fresh eyes.

Donna M Cameron, The Rewilding

For the June Crime Stack, Transit Lounge has kindly offered 20 copies of The Rewilding by NSW writer, Donna M Cameron. The Crime Stack is a benefit for Sisters in Crime members. Every month there are 20 books to win in a random draw of members. Join now and be in the running for a complimentary paperback copy of The Rewilding, both an electrifying cat-and-mouse-chase and an odd couple love story.

Murder Monday: Fleur McDonald

For the May Murder Monday, Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem spoke to WA regional author, Fleur McDonald who has more than 20 novels to her credit and has sold more than 850,000 copies. All of Fleur’s novels are set in regional Australia and she’s often called the “Voice of the Outback”. She was writing rural noir before it was a concept. Fleur’s storylines draw inspiration from having lived and worked on farms for much of her life and she now owns 4050ha farm east of Esperance.

How far do you go to protect your children? Dervla McTiernan

For the May Author Spotlight, Natalie Conyer spoke to Perth author and global publishing sensation, Dervla McTiernan, about her latest novel, What Happened to Nina?
She says that Dervla McTiernan bends the conventions of crime fiction as far as they will go, and still produces a powerful, page-turning, thrilling look at murder and its consequences. We know the victim, and the killer, from the start. Our attention is, instead, focused on how the families of both these people react, and on how far parents will go to protect their children.

Breaking into crime: Amanda Hampson

Amanda Hampson, the author of the best-selling The Tea Ladies and its sequel The Cryptic Clue, fell into crime (writing, not indulging) almost by accident. For twenty years, her work had fallen in the vague area of ‘commercial women’s fiction’ but when her 2021 release got smashed by lockdowns, she decided to change it up and do something quite different. Crime is one of the genres she enjoyed reading and she was keen for the challenge. The crossover to a specific genre instantly made her work more marketable.

Pip Fioretti, Bone Lands

For the May Crime Stack, Affirm Press has kindly offered 20 copies of Bone Lands by Sydney writer, Pip Fioretti. The Crime Stack is a benefit for Sisters in Crime members. Every month there are 20 books to win in a random draw of members. Join now and be in the running for a complimentary paperback copy of Bone Lands, an outstanding take on rural noir .

Murder Monday: Kylie Orr

Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem spoke to Melbourne author Kylie Orr for the April Murder Monday. Kylie has two much-praised novels to her credit – Someone Else’s Child, and now The Eleventh Floor which has a fabulous tagline, “The view is a killer…”.