Celebrating excellence in crime writing by Australian women.
2026
2026 Davitt Awards Winners
Best Adult Fiction: Joanna Jenkins, The Bluff, (Allen & Unwin)
Best Nonfiction: Kate Wild, The Red House, (Allen & Unwin)
Best Young Adult Novel: Amy Doak, What Have They done to Liza McLean? (Penguin Random House Australia)
Best Children’s Novel: Sarah Armstrong, Run, (Hardie Grant Children’s)
Highly Commended – Children’s Novel: Amelia Mellor, Oceanforged: The Wicked Ship, (Simon & Schuster Australia)
Best Debut: Angie Faye Martin, Melaleuca, (HQ Fiction)
Kerry Greenwood Readers’ Choice Award: Sally Hepworth, Mad Mabel, (Macmillan Australia)
The 26th Davitt Awards ceremony was held on 12 September at the lovely Stamford Plaza Hotel in Melbourne. The evening, hosted by Louise Milligan, multi-Walkley award winning investigative journalist for Four Corners, and the best-selling author of Pheasants Nest was attended by over 100 fabulous and fearless guests. There was much excitement as the awards were presented by Dervla McTiernan, bestselling author of the Cormac Reilly novels, The Murder Rule, and What Happened to Nina? Louise and Dervla also captivated the audience during dessert with their ‘in conversation’, sharing insightful observations and personal experiences. And all winners, bar Angie Faye Martin, winner of the Davitt Best Debut award, were there to receive their trophies.
The winners of the 26th Davitt Awards shared their reactions:
Best Adult Fiction: Joanna Jenkins, The Bluff, (Allen & Unwin). Joanna noted that winning her award was “very exciting and quite unexpected, …quite inspirational…” We are very much looking forward to Joanna’s next novel, which will feature the ‘Be Immortalised in Fiction’ raffle winner, Lindy Cameron.
Best Non-Fiction: Kate Wild, The Red House, (Allen & Unwin). Reflecting on her win, Kate explained that its “always amazing to have all your hard work recognised, and it’s a really important story for people to know…”
Best Young Adult: Amy Doak, What Have They done to Liza McLean? (Penguin Random House Australia). Amy shared that winning “gives you validation and confidence to keep going…. I so value Sisters in Crime and what they do… it kind of makes it all the more special.”
Best Children’s Book: Sarah Armstrong, Run, (Hardie Grant Children’s). Sarah appreciated that the Davitt Awards has “a kids’ category and a YA (young adult) category because kids’ books are reals books too…”
Highly Commended – Children’s Book: Amelia Mellor, Oceanforged: The Wicked Ship, (Simon & Schuster Australia). On the highly commended recognition for her work, Amelia said: “I’m grateful and thrilled…I’m really pleased that piracy counts as a crime.”
Best Debut: Angie Faye Martin, Melaleuca, (HQ Fiction). Angie shared that she “worked on Melaleuca for almost 10 years so to receive this kind of recognition means the world to me…”
Kerry Greenwood Readers’ Choice Award: Sally Hepworth, Mad Mabel, (Macmillan Australia). Sally said it felt amazing “to be voted by the readers and have the readers say that’s what they love. That’s why I am doing this. So, it’s a great honour.”
View the full author interviews on the Sisters in Crime Instagram and Facebook pages. If you haven’t already, follow our socials to stay up to date with all upcoming events.
Thanks to the Ruffin Falkiner Foundation and Swinburne University of Technology for their support and sponsorship of the awards.
Interested to see what a Davitt Awards night is like? Check out our photos from past years: Davitt Awards Showreel
The 2026 Davitt Awards Shortlist (by category):
Sisters in Crime and the Davitt Awards’ judges are proud to unveil the 2026 Davitt Awards Shortlist!
This year, 126 books were entered into the 26th Davitt Awards, across four categories. The judges of the 2026 Davitt Awards selected a shortlist of 16 books that reflect the excellent quality and maturity of stories written by Australian women crime writers. These stories are notable for their originality, depth and high level of the authors’ skills.
Ruth Wykes, Davitt Awards Judges’ Chair, said the 2026 entries that stood out ‘were the ones that entertained, challenged, taught us, and stayed with us long after we had read the final chapters. Stories that were bold and brave, or beautifully nuanced’.
ADULT FICTION
Shaeden Barry, At Café 64, (Echo Publishing)
Zeynab Gamieldien, Learned Behaviours, (Ultimo Press)
Fiona Hardy, Unbury The Dead, (Affirm Press)
Sally Hepworth, Mad Mabel, (Macmillan Australia)
Joanna Jenkins, The Bluff, (Allen & Unwin)
Angie Faye Martin, Melaleuca, (HQ Fiction)
NON-FICTION
Sonia Orchard, Groomed, (Simon & Schuster)
Lucy Sussex & Megan Brown, Outrageous Fortunes, the biography of Mary and Geroge Fortune, (Black Inc Books)
Kate Wild, The Red House, (Allen & Unwin)
YOUNG ADULT
Amy Doak, What Have They done to Liza McLean?, (Penguin Random House Australia)
Kate Emery, A Murder Is Going Down, (Allen & Unwin)
Carla Salmon, We Saw What You Started, (Pan Macmillan Australia)
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Sarah Armstrong, Run, (Hardie Grant Children’s)
Jacqueline Harvey, The Girl and the Ghost, (Penguin Random House Australia)
Amelia Mellor, Oceanforged: The Wicked Ship, (Simon & Schuster Australia)
Gisela Ervin-Ward, True South, (Midnight Sun)
Thanks to all the publishers, authors, and self-published authors who entered their books for consideration.
JUDGES
Judging of the Davitt Awards is by a panel of seven judges. The judges are chosen for their experience and expertise in the industry and hail from Victoria, ACT, NSW, and Queensland. The panel operates independently from Sisters in Crime.
The winners are notified approximately a month before the awards ceremony and invited to attend as guests of Sisters in Crime Australia. The awards ceremony is always in Melbourne.
About the Davitt Awards
For a quarter of a century, Sisters in Crime Australia has been shining a spotlight on the incredible achievements of women crime writers – fiction and non-fiction. From the first year with its seven entries to the present day where around 180 books are entered, it’s been an astonishing journey, filled with inspiring talent and unforgettable stories.
The Davitt Awards have always been about more than just recognising great writing; they’re about celebrating the voices that shine a light on society as a whole, push boundaries, and keep readers on the edge of their seats. From debut novels to well-established voices, the Davitts honour the diversity and power of Australian women writers in the worlds of crime fiction and true crime.
This spans adult, young adult, and children’s novels, as well as non-fiction.
The Davitt Awards celebrate the history, the thriving present, and the exciting future of women’s crime writing in this country: stronger and more diverse than ever, popular as well as experimental, and for readers of all ages as well as lovers of different genres and forms.
– Dr Kelly Gardiner, President, Sisters in Crime
All questions about the Davitt Awards should be sent to Ruth Wykes, the awards co-ordinator.