‘And Fire Came Down’ wins best novel at 2018 Davitt Awards
Emma Viskic’s novel And Fire Came Down (Echo) has won the award for best adult novel at the 2018 Davitt Awards for crime books by Australian women, presented by Sisters in Crime.
And Fire Came Down is the second title in the Caleb Zelic series. The first book in the series was Viskic’s debut, Resurrection Bay (Echo), which won three Davitt awards and a Ned Kelly award in 2016, and was recently shortlisted in two categories of the UK Crime Writers’ Association 2018 Dagger awards. A third book in the series, Darkness for Light, is due to be published in the second half of 2019.
Awards judge Jacqui Horwood said, ‘The judges love Caleb Zelic, who is a fresh and original addition to the crime genre. He is complex, and unrelenting, edging his way into trouble and out again. Viskic’s writing is taut and assured, and her sense of place means the reader can see and smell the bush, the tension and the atmosphere of Resurrection Bay. A compelling second novel.’
The winners in each category are:
Adult novel
- And Fire Came Down (Emma Viskic, Echo)
Young adult novel
- Ballad for a Mad Girl (Vikki Wakefield, Text)
Children’s novel
- The Turnkey (Allison Rushby, Walker Books)
Nonfiction
- Whiteley on Trial (Gabriella Coslovich, MUP)
Debut
- The Dark Lake (Sarah Bailey, A&U)
Readers’ choice
- Force of Nature (Jane Harper, Pan).
At last year’s awards, Jane Harper’s debut novel The Dry won the best adult novel award and also picked up the Readers’ Choice Award. Force of Nature is the sequel to The Dry.
For the first time this year, the Davitt Awards were open to self-published books, and while 19 self-published titles entered the awards, and one made it to the shortlist, none won a prize.
The winners were announced on 11 August at an event in Melbourne with guest presenter and Danish crime writer Sissel-Jo Gazan. Read about the shortlisted titles here and the longlisted titles here.
For more information, see the Sisters in Crime website.
Category: Awards Local news
