The Australian Crime Writers Association today announced the shortlists for the 2016 Ned Kelly Awards for the best in Australian crime writing.
This year’s fiction award is shaping up as a battle of the heavyweights with five former winners on the list, including two multiple winners, Garry Disher (The Heat) and Candice Fox (Eden), who is aiming to win for her third award in a row; along with previous winners Adrian McKinty, Barry Maitland and Mark Dapin. The shortlist is rounded out by rock musician, author and screenwriter Dave Warner whose eighth novel BEFORE IT BREAKS is his first in fifteen years.
The True Crime shortlist features authors tackling subjects that range from the operation to unmask the killer of schoolboy Daniel Morcombe (The Sting by Kate Kyriacou), the now infamous Graham Thorne kidnapping for ransom in 1960 (Kidnapped by Mark Tedeschi) and a long-forgotten murder that captivated Melbourne society in 1949 (Certain Admissions by Gideon Haigh.)
The 2016 shortlists are:
Best Fiction
Mark Dapin, R&R (Penguin Random House)
Garry Disher, The Heat (Text Publishing)
Candice Fox, Fall (Penguin Random House)
Adrian McKinty, Rain Dogs (Allen & Unwin)
Barry Maitland, Ash Island (Text Publishing)
Dave Warner, Before it Breaks (Fremantle Press)
Best True Crime
Gideon Haigh, Certain Admissions (Penguin Random House)
Kate Kyriacou, The Sting (Echo Publishing)
Martin McKenzie-Murray, A Murder Without Motive (Scribe)
Rebecca Poulson, Killing Love (Simon & Schuster)
Mark Tedeschi, Kidnapped (Simon & Schuster)
Best First Fiction
Tania Chandler, Please Don't Leave Me Here (Scribe)
J M Green, Good Money (Scribe)
Mark Hollands, Amplify (Self-Published)
Gary Kemble, Skin Deep (Echo Publishing)
Iain Ryan, Four Days (Broken River Books)
Emma Viskic, Resurrection Bay (Echo Publishing)
Lifetime Achievement Award
This year the Australian Crimewriters Association will honour Carmel Shute with a Lifetime Achievement Award. As a founder and national co-convener of Sisters in Crime Australia, Carmel has spent 25 years supporting and nurturing Australian women crime writers.
This year’s NED KELLY AWARDS will be presented during the Melbourne Writers Festival at a free event including live music, storytelling and door prizes on Sunday August 28 at 4.00 p.m. at TOFF IN THE TOWN, 252 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000.
For further details, contact the Australian Crime Writers Association on 0415 496066
Or refer to the website: http://www.austcrimewriters.com/ned-kelly-awards-page