Ned Kelly Awards 2021 shortlists announced

The Australian Crime Writers Association (ACWA) has announced the shortlist for the 2021 Ned Kelly Awards.

The shortlisted titles in each category are:

Best crime fiction

• Consolation (Garry Disher, Text)
• Gathering Dark (Candice Fox, Penguin)
• A Testament of Character (Sulari Gentill, Pantera)
• The Survivors (Jane Harper, Pan)
• The Good Turn (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins)
• Tell Me Lies (J P Pomare, Hachette)
• When She Was Good (Michael Robotham, Hachette)
• White Throat (Sarah Thornton, Text)

Best debut crime fiction

• The Good Mother (Rae Cairns, Bandrui Publishing)
• The Second Son (Lorraine Peck, Text)
• The Bluffs (Kyle Perry, PRH)
• The Night Whistler (Greg Woodlands, Text)

Best true crime

• The Husband Poisoner (Tanya Bretherton, Hachette)
• Stalking Claremont: Inside the hunt for a serial killer (Bret Christian, HarperCollins)
• Public Enemies (Mark Dapin, A&U)
• Hazelwood (Tom Doig, Viking)
• Witness (Louise Milligan, Hachette)

 Best international crime fiction

• The Guest List  (Lucy Foley, HarperCollins)
• The Secrets of Strangers (Charity Norman, A&U)
• Take Me Apart (Sara Sligar, Text)
• We Begin at the End (Chris Whittaker, A&U)
• Broken (Don Winslow, HarperCollins).

Established in 1995, the Ned Kelly Awards are Australia’s oldest, most prestigious awards honouring crime fiction and true crime writing. The ACWA reported a record number of entries for the awards in their 26th year, with 149 entries, a 50% increase on previous years.

ACWA chair Robert Goodman said the increase demonstrates that Australian crime writing and reading has ‘never been stronger’. ‘This is not just evident in the number of submissions but in the diversity and quality of the entries,’ Goodman added.

For more information about the 2021 shortlists, see the ACWA website.

Category: Awards Local news