Hammer wins 2024 ACT Book of the Year

Chris Hammer has won the 2024 ACT Book of the Year Award, worth $10,000, for The Seven (A&U).

Untethered (Ayesha Inoon, HQ Fiction) and The Measure of Sorrow: Stories (J Ashley-Smith, Meerkat Press) were highly commended for the award, while Sleeplessness (Paul Hetherington, Pierian Springs Press), Tiwi Story: Turning history downside up (Mavis Kerinaiua & Laura Rademaker, NewSouth) and The Great Gallipoli Escape (Jackie French, HarperCollins) were also shortlisted.

Judges Helen Ennis, T R Napper and Barrina South said: ‘In The Seven, Chris Hammer demonstrates total mastery of the crime genre. From the first pages onwards, Hammer creates a thrilling narrative filled with suspense that immerses the reader in gripping, page-turning intrigue.’

‘Hammer conveys a beautiful sense of place in developing this quintessential Australian story, filled with compelling characters, who are poignantly reflective about their own lives. The narrative, exposing the power of the landed aristocracy in a fictional country town, is skilfully controlled so that the reader is never certain where they will be taken next, until the final resolution. The town itself functions as a powerful metaphor, which, with its art deco façade, is an evocative setting for this world-class crime novel.’

ACT Minister for the Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy Tara Cheyne said the ACT Book of the Year Award ‘showcases this talent and the excellence of our local authors’. ‘It is not only a celebration of the amazing works coming out of the community each year, but also intended to inspire those who have an idea, a seed for a book to “pick up the pen” and get writing,’ added Cheyne.

Category: Awards Local news