Sisters in Crime has announced the shortlist for its 17th Davitt Awards for best crime books by Australian women.
Jacqui Horwood, the Davitt Judges wrangler, said that judges faced the monumental task of reading nearly 100 books, many of them books by first time authors.
‘Overall, the judges have been impressed with the quality of writing, especially the vivid evocations of place. We have been taken through the restaurants and laneways of Sydney’s Chinatown; dusty, drought-ridden country towns, the grungy back alleys of Collingwood, and city streets of London and Paris. Armchair travel at its best,’ Horwood said.
‘Best of all, we have been left breathless by breakneck plots and interesting, complex characters.’
Horwood said she was also thrilled to announce that the Davitt Awards will be presented by Australian true crime writer, barrister and television producer, Hilary Bonney, at a gala dinner at Melbourne’s Thornbury Theatre on Saturday 26 August, 7pm. After talking about her ‘life in crime’ with Professor Sue Turnbull, Bonney will present six awards: Best Adult Novel; Best Young Adult; Best Children’s Novel; Best Non-fiction Book; Best Book (any category); and Readers’ Choice (as voted by the 600 members of Sisters in Crime Australia).
The Davitts, named after Ellen Davitt, the author of Australia’s first mystery novel, Force and Fraud, in 1865, cost publishers nothing to enter.
The awards are handsome carved polished wooded trophies featuring the front cover of the winning novel under perspex. No prize money is attached.
Sisters in Crime Australia was set up 26 years ago, has chapters in different states and holds regular events in Melbourne dissecting crime fiction on the page and screen. It also hosts a popular annual short-story competition, the Scarlet Stiletto Awards.
The Davitts apply to books published in the previous calendar year.
The judging panel for 2017 comprises Sisters in Crime national co-convenor, Michaela Lobb; former convenors Jacqui Horwood, Maggie Baron and Sylvia Loader; forensic specialist Debbie Stephen; and Readings Bookshop bookseller and writer, Deborah Crabtree.
Voting by Sisters in Crime members on the Davitt (Readers’ Choice) closes on 31 July.
Click here to book for the Davitt Award dinner.
Media comment: Jacqui Horwood on 0449 703 503; jacqui.horwood@gmail.com
2017 Davitt Awards shortlist
(All books can be purchased from the Sun Bookshop or Booktopia.)
Adult novel
- Tania Chandler, Dead in the Water (Scribe Publications Australia)
- Cath Ferla, Ghost Girls (Bonnier Publishing Australia)
- Jane Harper, The Dry (Pan Macmillan Australia)
- Melina Marchetta, Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Holly Throsby, Goodwood (Allen & Unwin)
Young Adult novels
- Megan Jacobson, Yellow (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Shivaun Plozza, Frankie (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Nova Weetman, Everything is Changed (University of Queensland Press)
Children’s novels
- Catherine Jinks, Theophilus Grey and the Traitor’s Mask (Allen & Unwin)
- Jessica Miller, Elizabeth and Zenoba (Text Publishing)
- Judith Rossell, Wormwood Mire: A Stella Montgomery intrigue (book #2) (HarperCollins Australia)
- Jen Storer, Truly Tan: Hoodwinked (HarperCollins Australia)
Non-fiction books
- Robin Bowles, Into the Darkness: The mysterious death of Phoebe Handsjuk (Scribe Publications Australia)
- Rachel Landers, Who Bombed the Hilton? (Newsouth Books)
- Megan Norris, Look What You Made Me Do: Fathers who kill (Bonnier Publishing Australia)
- Ruth Wykes and Kylie Fox, Invisible Women (Bonnier Publishing Australia)
Debut
- Cath Ferla, Ghost Girls (Bonnier Publishing Australia)
- Jane Harper, The Dry (Pan Macmillan Australia)
- Megan Jacobson, Yellow (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Rachel Landers, Who Bombed the Hilton? (Newsouth Books)
- Melina Marchetta, Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Jessica Miller, Elizabeth and Zenoba (Text Publishing)
- Shivaun Plozza, Frankie (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Holly Throsby, Goodwood (Allen & Unwin)