The Australian Crime Writers Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Ned Kelly Awards.

The Australian Crime Writers Association received 135 entries for the 2022 Ned Kelly Awards, in another strong year of crime writing. The entries were narrowed to a shortlist of 19 books, across the four award categories: Best Crime Fiction, Best True Crime, Best Debut Crime Fiction, and Best International Crime Fiction published in Australia.

2022 BEST CRIME FICTION

The winner of the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction is: The Chase by Candice Fox (Random House Australia).

The judges praised Fox’s fast-paced storytelling and strong sense of character and setting. “Another great novel from a great writer.”

Fox won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut in 2014 for Hades and then followed up by winning the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime in 2015 for the sequel, Eden. She has also been shortlisted for Ned Kelly Awards for Fall, Crimson Lake and Redemption Point.

2022 BEST TRUE CRIME

The winner of the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime is: Banquet: The Untold Story of Adelaide’s Family Murders, by Debi Marshall (Random House Australia).

The judges said while Banquet was an unflinching look at horrific crimes, it was handled with sensitivity, ensuring the survivors’ stories are explored with compassion.

Marshall is an award-winning investigative journalist who has previously won a Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime in 2007 for Killing for Pleasure: The Definitive Story of the Snowtown Murders.

2022 BEST DEBUT CRIME FICTION

The winner of the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction: Banjawarn by Josh Kemp (UWA Publishing).

“Banjawarn operates across two genres, gothic and crime, while remaining fiercely Australian. Its engrossing and highly controlled narrative has a strong sense of place and indigenous sovereignty.”

Banjawarn was also joint winner of the 2021 Dorothy Hewett Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.

2021 BEST INTERNATIONAL CRIME FICTION

The winner of the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best International Crime Fiction published in Australia is:The Maid by Nita Prose (HarperCollins).

The judges loved the quirky main character, Molly Gray, and the highly readable originality of the story by this debut author.

Australian Crime Writers Association chair Karina Kilmore congratulated all 135 authors who entered the awards this year.

“It’s no mean feat to write a book, particularly amidst the uncertain times of a pandemic when most of these books were written. The entries truly showcased the best of Australian writing,” Kilmore said.

“But special thanks must also go to the family and friends of all our authors, published and unpublished, for helping writers carve out a few spare hours, by boosting their confidence or supporting them financially, so they can keep writing and keep contributing to Australia’s big fat diversified arts community,” she said.

“Almost every form of entertainment, books, movies, songs, plays, documentaries, comics and TV dramas start with someone’s writing.

“The crime genre has always been very popular with readers, partly because it includes such a wide range of locations, settings and social demographics of its characters but also because it has many forms of storytelling including noir, mystery, thriller, suspense, cosy crime, courtroom, hard boiled and historical,” Kilmore said.

2022 AWARDS SHORTLIST

BEST CRIME FICTION

The Enemy Within - Tim Ayliffe. The Others - Mark Brandi. You had it Coming - BM Carroll. The Chase - Candice Fox. Kill Your Brother - Jack Heath. The Family Doctor - Debra Oswald. The Deep- Kyle Perry

BEST TRUE CRIME

The Mother Wound - Amani Haydar. Larrimah - Caroline Graham and Kylie Stevenson. Banquet:The Untold Story of Adelaide's Family Murders – Debi Marshall. A Witness of Fact - Drew Rooke

BEST DEBUT CRIME FICTION

Sweet Jimmy - Bryan Brown. Shadow Over Edmund Street - Suzanne Frankham. Cutters End - Margaret Hickey. Banjawarn - Josh Kemp

BEST INTERNATIONAL CRIME FICTION

Case Study - Graeme Macrae Burnet. The Heron's Cry - Ann Cleeves. The Maid - Nita Prose. Cry Wolf - Hans Rosenfeldt.

ABOUT THE NED KELLY AWARDS

The Ned Kelly Awards are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious acknowledgements for crime fiction and true crime writing. Established in 1996, previous winners include: Peter Temple, Shane Maloney, Helen Garner, Gabrielle Lord, Garry Disher, Jane Harper, John Silvester and Duncan McNab.