True crime author Ruth Wykes (Mornington Peninsula, Vic) took out the 23rd Scarlet Stiletto Short Story Award presented on Saturday night (19 November) at SheKilda3: One-day crime spree, Sisters in Crime’s 25th anniversary convention. To mark the silver anniversary, a special silver stiletto trophy was presented – the winner, Jacqui Horwood (left), a librarian from …
Love the twisty, turny plots of Pip Drysdale? Twenty copies of her latest The Close-Up are up for grabs in the November Crime Stack draw for members only. The Close-Up is an electrifying, dark and (of course) twisty thriller that follows a young novelist, once full of promise but now failing to live up to it, who becomes embroiled in the life of a hot movie star… and his stalker.
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 Close-Up
Sisters in Crime’s Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books by Australian women turn 25 next year and we plan to celebrate in style. Entries are now open! EarlyBird closes 31 November 2024.
Multi-award-winning author, Candice Fox, will present Sisters in Crime’s 31st Scarlet Stiletto Awards, after first discussing her life in crime with fellow award-winning author, Sarah Bailey.
Sisters in Crime Australia is proud to announce that 28 stories by 28 authors have been shortlisted for its 31st Scarlet Stiletto Awards for best crime short stories written by Australian women. This year 195 stories are vying for a record $13,400 in prize money. All authors receive a framed certificate and, if lucky, they also win one of the 16 prizes on offer. The first-prize winner also scores a spectacular trophy – a scarlet stiletto shoe with a steel stiletto heel plunging into a mount.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Scarlet Stiletto Awards for best short stories in 2023, Sisters in Crime, Susanna Lobez, actor-turned-barrister-turned-broadcaster-turned-true-crime-author, has been progressively narrating the winning stories in a podcast – Scarlet Stiletto Bites: Scintillating stories by Australian women. Find out how to listen here.
For the September Crime Stack, Affirm Press has kindly offered 20 copies of The Crag, by Claire Sutherland, award-winning journalist, former Herald Sun Book editor, and keen climber. It’s literally a cliff-hanger. While walking on an isolated track in the windswept Wimmera, rock-climber and ambo Skye discovers the body of a young woman. The body has injuries that suggest a rock-climbing accident, but it’s been found more than 5km from the nearest cliffs at Mount Arapiles. Police ask Skye to help them navigate the perilous world of rock climbing as they try to unravel what happened.
The Scarlet Stiletto Awards for best short crime and mystery stories turn 31 this year and are offering a record $13,400 in prizes. The first prize winner takes home $2000, donated by Swinburne University of Technology, plus the coveted trophy. Cate Kennedy is offering a new award for the Best Story Inspired by a Forensic Clue ($500). Closes 31 August 2024 – so start writing now, if you haven’t already.
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.
Sisters in Crime and the St Kilda community are mourning the death of Brenda Richards at the age of 85. She was a member of Sisters in Crime for over 30 years and wrote two crime novels. Brenda was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2011. primarily for her role in founding the Council of Single Mothers and their Children. A few years later she was made an Ambassador for Women by the Labor Party, as well as the Number 1 female ticket holder for the local St. Kilda City Football Club. In 2021, Brenda received an OAM “for service to the community through social welfare organisations”.
Sisters in Crime Australia’s 24th Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books by Australian women from 2023 are now open.
The competition is open to books by all women, whether cisgender, transgender or intersex, who are citizens/residents of Australia. Self-published books are eligible. The Davitts cost publishers $25 a title to enter. Many thanks to Swinburne University of Technology for its support.