2023 Ned Kelly Awards Nominees Announced

The nominees for the 2023 Ned Kelly Awards have been announced.

The Ned Kelly Awards are prestigious literary awards presented annually to recognize excellence in crime fiction writing within the Australian and New Zealand literary landscapes. Named after the notorious 19th-century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, the awards aim to acknowledge outstanding contributions to the crime fiction genre while also celebrating the region’s unique storytelling talent.

Established in 1995 by the Australian Crime Writers Association, the Ned Kelly Awards have become an important fixture in the crime fiction community, providing authors with recognition for their creative efforts and fostering a sense of camaraderie among writers, readers, and enthusiasts of the genre. The awards have evolved over the years to encompass various categories and recognize diverse aspects of crime fiction literature.

The 2023 nominees are as follows:

Best Crime Novel

• When We Fall by Aoife Clifford
• The Tilt by Chris Hammer
• Exiles by Jane Harper
• The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
• Seven Sisters by Katherine Kovacic
• Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham
• Those Who Perish by Emma Viskic
• The Carnival is Over by Greg Woodland

Best Debut Crime Fiction

• Wake by Shelley Burr
• The House of Now and Then by Jo Dixon
• How to Kill a Client by Joanna Jenkins
• Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne
• Denizen by James McKenzie Watson
• Dirt Creek / Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
• Black River by Matthew Spencer
• No Country for Girls by Emma Styles

Best International Crime Fiction

• Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath
• The Lemon Man by Keith Bruton
• The Favor by Nicci French
• The Hitchhiker by Gerwin van der Werf

Best True Crime

• Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!: The Lindt Cafe Siege by Officer A.
• Rattled by Ellis Gunn
• Betrayed by Sandi Logan
• Out of the Ashes: The Mothers Love That Healed the Scars of the Bali Bombings by Megan Norris
• Death Row at Truro: The Shocking True Story of Australia’s Deadliest Sex Killers by Geoff Plunkett

For more information on the awards, please visit https://www.austcrimewriters.com/.