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Davitt Awards 2023 shortlists announced

26 July 2023   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the shortlists for the 2023 Davitt Awards for best crime books by Australian women.

The shortlisted titles in each category are:

Adult novel

  • Release (Lucy Christopher, Text)
  • When We Fall (Aoife Clifford, Ultimo)
  • Stone Town (Margaret Hickey, Penguin)
  • All That’s Left Unsaid (Tracey Lien, HQ Fiction)
  • The Torrent (Dinuka McKenzie, HarperCollin)
  • The Unbelieved (Vikki Petraitis, A&U)
  • Dirt Town (Hayley Scrivenor, Macmillan)
  • No Country for Girls (Emma Styles, Sphere)

Young adult novels

  • The Hidden Girl (Louise Bassett, Walker Books)
  • Night Lights (Sarah Epstein, Fourteen Press)
  • Seven Days (Fleur Ferris, PRH)
  • The Killing Code (Ellie Marney, A&U)

Children’s novels

  • The Book of Wondrous Possibilities (Deborah Abela, Puffin)
  • The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-bottomed Boat (Charlie Archbold, Text)
  • Rita’s Revenge (Lian Tanner, A&U)

Nonfiction books

  • Don’t Make a Fuss: It’s only the Claremont Serial Killer (Wendy Davis, Fremantle)
  • Legitimate Sexpectations: The power of sex-ed (Katrina Marson, Scribe)
  • Out of the Ashes (Megan Norris, Big Sky Publishing)

Debut books

  • The Cane (Maryrose Cuskelly, A&U)
  • All That’s Left Unsaid (Tracey Lien, HQ Fiction)
  • The Torrent (Dinuka McKenzie, HarperCollins)
  • The Unbelieved (Vikki Petraitis, A&U)
  • Dirt Town (Hayley Scrivenor, Macmillan)
  • No Country for Girls (Emma Styles, Sphere).

This year’s judging panel was made up of medical autopsy expert Philomena Horsley; YA expert and reviewer Joy Lawn; former bookseller Deb Bodinnar; author and editor Ruth Wykes; and Sisters in Crime president Moraig Kisler.

The Davitt Awards, including a readers choice award as voted by Sisters in Crime members, will be presented at a gala dinner in Melbourne on Saturday, 2 September by journalist, true-crime author, and television producer Debi Marshall.

Last year’s winners included Charlotte McConaghy for Once There Were Wolves (Hamish Hamilton) and Kate Holden for The Winter Road: A story of legacy, land and a killing at Croppa Creek (Black Inc.).

For more information, see the Sisters in Crime website.

 

Category: Awards Local news