The Australian Crime Writers Association presents

the 2023 Ned Kelly Awards winners! (Please watch.)

Congratulations to our 2023 Ned Kelly Award Winners

Exiles by Jane Harper
Wake by Shelley Burr
Betrayed by Sandi Logan
The Lemon Man by Keith Bruton

Australian Crime Writers Association chair Karina Kilmore congratulates all 163 authors who entered the awards this year, up from 135 last year.

“It’s a tough gig writing a book and it’s never been more important than now to ensure that we continue to support and celebrate Australian authors as the spectre of artificial intelligence threatens the future of human creativity,” Kilmore said.

“Artificial intelligence developers have already stolen and used our published words and stories without permission to train their algorithms and now they have stolen our words they are replacing authors and writers with computers. The same process is also being used to replace artists, musicians and even human actors.

“It is horrifying that artificial intelligence will now be framing our social references, recycling our plots and removing all human elements from the art of story telling, poetry, song writing, children’s books, theatre, TV and, of course, crime writing.”

Kilmore called on all Australian audiences and arts communities to support human storytelling and creativity with the introduction of controls to stop the theft and use of authors’ work by artificial intelligence developers and users.

2023 BEST CRIME FICTION

The winner of the 2023 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction is:
Exiles by Jane Harper (Pan Macmillan Australia).

The panel of judges praised Harper’s depth of characters and setting - a hallmark of her compelling and intricate style of storytelling.

The best crime category continues to astound with the depth of talent from Australian authors, many of which are now well established as international authors.

“The variety and diversity of Australian crime novels blew us all away. Outback noir, suburban Aussie crime, city streets, cliff edges, small towns, domestic settings, historical, misaligned justice, revenge, parenthood, almost every setting and sub-genre was covered this year,” judge David Collins said. 

2023 BEST TRUE CRIME

The winner of the 2023 Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime is:
Betrayed by Sandi Logan (Hachette Australia).

The judges said the entries in the true crime category continue to showcase the very best in Australian investigative non-fiction writing.

“True crime authors not only have to impeccably research and retell these very personal stories but they have to tread carefully and respectfully,” judge Emily Webb said. 

2023 BEST DEBUT CRIME FICTION

The winner of the 2023 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction is:
Wake by Shelley Burr (Hachette Australia).

The panel of judges said it was heartening to see such strong talent coming through in this next wave of Australian crime writers. There were 34 entries in this year’s Best Debut Crime Fiction category.

Judge RWR McDonald said the judging panel described Wake is an astounding achievement for a first time author. 

2023 BEST INTERNATIONAL CRIME FICTION

The winner of the 2023 Ned Kelly Award for Best International Crime Fiction published in Australia is:
The Lemon Man by Keith Bruton (Brash Books).

“The Lemon Man is a warm funny and compassionate story written in a wonderfully original voice. A truly great read,” judge Ron Blaber said. 

2023 AWARDS SHORTLIST

BEST CRIME FICTION

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

BEST TRUE CRIME

Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! by Officer A - Death Row at Truro by Geoff Plunkett - Rattled by Ellis Gunn - Betrayed by Sandi Logan - Out of the Ashes by Megan Norris

BEST DEBUT CRIME FICTION

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

BEST INTERNATIONAL CRIME FICTION (Published in Australia)

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

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, Candice Fox, John Silvester and Duncan McNab.

2023 Best Crime Ficton

2023 Best True Crime

2023 Best Debut Crime Fiction

2023 Best International Crime Fiction