Check out the 2021 Ned Kelly Award winners!

At 8pm last night, Australia’s keenest crime readers and writers gathered together online for the reveal of the 2021 Ned Kelly Award winners, and they certainly did not disappoint!

Administered by the Australian Crime Writers Association and proudly sponsored by Booktopia, the Ned Kelly Awards are one of Australia’s highest honours for crime writers. This year’s winners were picked from a pool of 149 entrants — almost double that of 2020 — and ACWA Chair Robert Goodman attributed this to the ongoing global pandemic.

‘In these difficult pandemic times, people need an escape more than ever. The sheer number of entries this year shows that crime authors are prepared to stand and deliver,’ he said.

‘The Ned Kelly Awards have always been recognised for showcasing both emerging and established Australian crime writing talent. It is wonderful to see not only that our well known authors are still delivering astounding crime writing but also the amazing depth of new talent across all award categories.’

Scroll down to see the 2021 Ned Kelly Award winners!

Best Crime Fiction

Consolation by Garry Disher (Text Publishing)

Winter in Tiverton. Constable Paul Hirschhausen has a snowdropper on his patch. Someone is stealing women’s underwear, and Hirsch knows enough about that kind of crime – how it can escalate – not to take it lightly. But the more immediate concerns are a call from the high school, a teacher worried about a student who may be in danger at home.

Another call, a different school- a man enraged about the principal’s treatment of his daughter. A little girl in harm’s way and an elderly woman in danger. An absent father who isn’t where he’s supposed to be; another who flees to the back country armed with a rifle. Families under pressure. And the cold, seeping feeling that something is very, very wrong.

Buy it here

Best True Crime

Stalking Claremont: Inside the hunt for a serial killer by Bret Christian (Harper Collins)

In the early hours of January 27, 1996, after an evening spent celebrating at Club Bayview in the Perth suburb of Claremont, 18-year-old Sarah Spiers called a taxi to nearby Mosman Park. But when the cab arrived, she’d already gone. Sarah was never seen again.

Four months later, on June 9, 1996, 23-year-old Jane Rimmer disappeared from the same area, her body later found in bushland south of Perth. When the body of a third young woman, 27-year-old Ciara Glennon, was found north of the city, having vanished from Claremont in August 1997, it was clear a serial killer was on the loose, and an entire city lived in fear he would strike again.

Buy it here

Read a Q&A with Bret Christian here

Best Debut Crime Fiction

The Second Son by Loraine Peck (Text Publishing)

When Ivan Novak is shot dead putting out his garbage bins in Sydney’s west, his family wants revenge, especially his father Milan, a notorious crime boss. It’s a job for the second son, Ivan’s younger brother Johnny.

But Johnny loves his wife Amy and their son Sasha. And she’s about to deliver her ultimatum: either the three of them escape this wave of killing or she’ll leave, taking Sasha. Torn between loyalty to his family and love for his wife, Johnny plans the heist of a lifetime and takes a huge risk. Is he prepared to pay the price? And what choice will Amy make?

Buy it here

Loraine Peck answers our Ten Terrifying Questions here

Best International Crime Fiction

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker (Allen & Unwin)

Thirty years ago, Vincent King became a killer. Now, he’s been released from prison and is back in his hometown of Cape Haven, California. Not everyone is pleased to see him. Like Star Radley, his ex-girlfriend, and sister of the girl he killed.

Duchess Radley, Star’s thirteen-year-old daughter, is part-carer, part-protector to her younger brother, Robin – and to her deeply troubled mother. But in trying to protect Star, Duchess inadvertently sets off a chain of events that will have tragic consequences not only for her family, but also the whole town.

Buy it here

Congratulations to all of the 2021 Ned Kelly Award winners!

Find out more about the awards here

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About the Contributor

Olivia Fricot

Olivia Fricot (she/her) is Booktopia's Senior Content Producer and editor of the Booktopian blog. She has too many plants and not enough bookshelves, and you can usually find her reading, baking, or talking to said plants. She is pro-Oxford comma.

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