The Ned Kelly Awards are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious recognition honouring published crime fiction and true crime writing. The categories are Best Crime Fiction, Best Debut Crime Fiction, Best True Crime and Best International Crime Fiction. Entries are accepted for books published in the 12 months prior to 1 March each year.

Video presentation 2023 Ned Kelly Awards winners!

Thank you to all the 2023 award entrants and your incredible crime writing please watch the 2023 Winners being announced.

About the Ned Kelly Awards

The Ned Kelly Awards began in 1995 after a group of crime writers, academics, publishers and journalists hatched the plan over a long lunch. Among those present were Peter Milne from Abbey’s bookshop, academic Noel King, crime novelist John Dale and Stuart Coupe, journalist and co founder/co editor of Mean Streets crime magazine. The first awards were given in 1996.

When it came to deciding on a name, co-opting the nation’s most infamous villain, bushranger Ned Kelly from the Kelly Gang, seemed a natural fit. Known affectionately as ‘The Neds’, the Ned Kelly Awards have grown in importance and scope with more categories, more entries and greater acclaim for the winners and shortlisted authors. Our list of category winners now reads like a Who’s Who of Australian crime writers.

The annual Ned Kelly Awards are run by the Australian Crime Writers Association. Thanks go to the support of AustCrime members, the generosity of our local publishers, a starting grant from Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) and our previous sponsor Booktopia. The Ned Kelly Awards are among the highlights of the Australian publishing and literary calendar and they celebrate the very best crime writing has to offer and is currently in need of a new sponsor.