Davitt Award

The Davitt Awards are literary awards which are presented annually by the Sisters in Crime, Australia association. The awards are named in honour of Ellen Davitt (1812–1879) who wrote Australia's first mystery novel, Force and Fraud in 1865. They are presented for Australian crime fiction, by women, for both adults and young adults. They were established in 2001 to mark the 10th anniversary of the association.

Categories Adult Novel Young Adult Novel True Crime Debut Crime Readers' Choice

Previous winners

2000s +Davitt Award winners 2000-2009YearCategoryAuthorTitleRef2001Adult NovelEye to Eye 2002Adult NovelA Simple Death Young Adult NovelThe Three-Pronged DaggerReaders' ChoiceBleeding Hearts2003Adult NovelBaby Did a Bad Bad ThingBlood RedemptionYoung Adult NovelFireworks and DarknessReaders' ChoiceSkin Deep2004Adult NovelDue Preparations for the Plague Young Adult NovelMuck-Up DayReaders' ChoiceThicker Than Water2005Adult NovelMalicious IntentYoung Adult NovelDevastation Road Readers' Choice Peepshow2006Adult NovelThe Butterfly ManYoung Adult NovelEvil Genius Readers' ChoiceHeavenly Pleasures Rubdown2007Adult NovelUndertowYoung Adult NovelThe Betrayal of Bindy MackenzieTrue CrimeSilent Death: The Killing of Julie Ramage Readers' Choice Devil's FoodSilent Death: The Killing of Julie Ramage2008Adult Novel FranticYoung Adult NovelThe Night Has a Thousand EyesTrue CrimeKilling Jodie Readers' ChoiceScarlet Stiletto: The First Cut 2009Adult NovelA Beautiful Place to DieYoung Adult NovelGenius Squad True CrimeThe Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm IslandReaders' ChoiceThe Darkest Hour

2010s +Davitt Award winners 2010-2019YearCategoryAuthorTitleRef2010Adult NovelSharp Shooter Young Adult NovelLiar True Crime and Candace SuttonLadykiller Readers' Choice Forbidden Fruit2011Adult NovelCold JusticeYoung Adult NovelA Girl Like MeTrue CrimeMurderer No MoreReaders' ChoiceThe Old School2012Adult NovelA Decline in ProphetsYoung Adult NovelSurface Tension True CrimeCold Case Files: Past Crimes Solved by New Forensic Science Debut NovelBeyond Fear Readers' ChoiceThe BrotherhoodBeyond Fear 2013Adult NovelMad Men, Bad Girls and the Guerilla Knitters InstituteYoung Adult NovelThe Tunnels of TarcoolaTrue CrimeThe Waterlow KillingsDebut NovelMad Men, Bad Girls and the Guerilla Knitters Institute Readers' Choice Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery 2014Adult NovelDark Horse Young Adult NovelThe Midnight DressChildren's NovelSpooked!True CrimeNight Games: Sex, Power and Sport Debut Novel Hannah Kent Burial Rites Readers' Choice Hannah Kent Burial Rites 2015Adult NovelBig Little Lies Young Adult NovelEvery Word Children's NovelWithering-By-Sea True CrimeLast Woman Hanged Debut NovelIntruderReaders' ChoiceTell Me Why 2016Adult NovelResurrection BayYoung Adult NovelRiskChildren's NovelFriday Barnes, Under SuspicionTrue CrimeWild ManDebut NovelResurrection BayRiskReaders' ChoiceResurrection Bay2017Adult NovelThe DryYoung Adult NovelFrankieChildren's NovelWormwood Mire: A Stella Montgomery Intrigue True CrimeLook What You Made Me Do: Fathers Who Kill Debut NovelGhost Girls Readers' ChoiceThe Dry2018Adult NovelAnd Fire Came DownYoung Adult NovelBallad for a Mad Girl Children's NovelThe TurnkeyTrue CrimeWhiteley on Trial Debut NovelThe Dark LakeReaders' ChoiceForce of Nature2019Adult NovelThe RúinYoung Adult NovelSmall Spaces Children's NovelWakestone Hall True CrimeThe Arsonist: A Mind on FireDebut NovelEggshell Skull Readers' ChoiceThe Lost Man

2020s +Davitt Award winners 2020-2029YearCategoryAuthorTitleRef2020Adult NovelThe TrespassersYoung Adult NovelFour Dead Queens Children's NovelThe Girl in the MirrorTrue CrimeBanking Bad: Whistleblowers. Corporate cover-ups. One Journalist's Fight for the Truth Debut NovelEight Lives Readers' ChoiceThe ScholarDarkness for Light 2021Adult NovelThe Good SisterYoung Adult NovelWhere We Begin Children's NovelA Clue for ClaraTrue CrimeWitness Debut NovelSheerwaterReaders' ChoiceThe Shifting Landscape2022Adult NovelOnce There Were WolvesYoung Adult NovelThe GapsChildren's NovelThe Detective's Guide to Ocean TravelNon-FictionThe Winter Road: A story of legacy, land and a killing at Croppa CreekDebutJacqueline BublitzBefore You Knew My NameReaders' ChoiceBefore You Knew My Name2023Adult NovelAll That's Left UnsaidYoung Adult NovelSeven DaysChildren's NovelThe Sugarcane Kids and the Red-bottomed BoatNon-FictionOut of the AshesDebutDirt TownReaders' ChoiceThe Unbelieved2024Adult NovelWhen One of Us HurtsYoung Adult NovelEleanor Jones Is Not a MurdererChildren's NovelThe Wolves of Greycoat HallNon-FictionThe Schoolgirl, Her Teacher and His WifeDebutThe Half BrotherReaders' ChoiceThe Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies2025Adult Novel To the RiverYoung Adult Novel Into the Mouth of the WolfChildren's Novel The MidwatchNon-Fiction The Lasting Harm: Witnessing the Trial of Ghislaine MaxwellDebut What I Would Do to YouReaders' Choice What Happened to Nina?2026Adult NovelThe BluffYoung Adult NovelWhat Have They Done to Liza McLean?Children's NovelRunNon-FictionThe Red HouseDebutMelaleucaReaders' ChoiceMad Mabel

Shortlists

Shortlists have only been provided for these awards since 2012.

Adult Novel

2010s +2010s Adult Novel winners and finalists Year Author Title Result Ref.2012 Sulari Gentill A Decline in Prophets Winner Jaye Ford Beyond FearFinalist Carolyn Morwood Death and the Spanish Lady Jennifer Rowe Love, Honour and O’Brien Kim Westwood The Courier's New Bicycle Helene Young Shattered Sky 2013 Maggie Groff Mad Men, Bad Girls and the Guerilla Knitters Institute Winner Kathryn Fox Cold GraveFinalist Sulari Gentill Paving the New Road Narrelle Harris Walking Shadows Katherine Howell Silent Fear Malla Nunn Silent Valley Caroline Overington Sisters of Mercy Josephine Pennicott The Poet’s Cottage

Davitt Award

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