| Ned Kelly Awards | |
| Awarded For: | Excellence in Australian Crime fiction & true crime |
| Presenter: | Crime Writers Association of Australia |
| Country: | Australia |
| Year: | 1996 |
The Ned Kelly Awards (named for bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to reward excellence in the field of crime writing within Australia.
The genre of crime writing has long been popular, but it was not until the early 1990s that a local growth of writing within the genre occurred in Australia. By the middle of the decade support for the field had grown sufficiently that it was decided to establish the Ned Kelly Awards.
The awards are affectionately referred to as 'The Neddies' within the community.
| Best Novel | Best First Novel | Best Non-Fiction | Lifetime Achievement | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | (tie) The Malcontenta by Barry Maitland Inside Dope by Paul Thomas | Dark Angel by John Dale | NA | Jon Cleary | [1] |
| 1997 | The Brush-Off by Shane Maloney | (tie) Bad Debts by Peter Temple[2] Get Rich Quick by Peter Doyle | How to Write Crime edited by Marele Day | Alan Yates (aka Carter Brown) | [3] |
| 1998 | NA | NA | NA | NA | |
| 1999 | Amaze Your Friends by Peter Doyle | The Last Days by Andrew Masterson | NA | Peter Corris | [4] |
| Best Novel | Best First Novel | Best True Crime | Best Teenage /Young Adult | Reader's Vote | Lifetime Achievement | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Shooting Star by Peter Temple | The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders by Marshall Browne | (tie) Huckstepp: A Dangerous Life by John Dale Underbelly 3 by Andrew Rule and John Silvester | NA | NA | NA | [5] |
| 2001 | (tie) Dead Point by Peter Temple The Second Coming by Andrew Masterson | Last Drinks by Andrew McGahan | Broken Lives by Estelle Blackburn | NA | Bleeding Hearts by Lindy Cameron | Professor Stephen Knight | [6] |
| 2002 | Death Delights by Gabrielle Lord | (tie) Apartment 255 by Bunty Avieson Who Killed Angelique? by Emma Darcy | (tie) Razor by Larry Writer The Hanged Man by Mike Richards | Blue Murder by Ken Catran | Apartment 255 by Bunty Avieson | Patrick Gallagher | [7] |
| 2003 | White Dog by Peter Temple | Blood Redemption by Alex Palmer | Blood Stain by Peter Lalor | NA | NA | Kerry Greenwood | [8] |
| 2004 | Degrees of Connection by Jon Cleary | (tie) The Walker by Jane R. Goodall Junkie Pilgrim by Wayne Grogan | Killing Juanita by Peter Rees | NA | NA | Bob Bottom | [9] |
| 2005 | Lost by Michael Robotham | A Private Man by Malcolm Knox | (tie) Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner Mr Big by Tony Reeves | NA | NA | Stuart Coupe | [10] |
| 2006 | (tie) Crook as Rookwood by Chris Nyst The Broken Shore by Peter Temple | Out of the Silence by Wendy James | Packing Death by Lauchlin McCulloch | NA | NA | Andrew Rule and John Silvester | [11] |
| 2007 | Chain of Evidence by Garry Disher | Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland | (tie) Written On The Skin by Liz Porter Killing For Pleasure: The Definitive Story of the Snowtown Murders by Debi Marshall | NA | NA | Sandra Harvey and Lindsay Simpson | [12] |
| 2008 | Shatter by Michael Robotham | The Low Road by Chris Womersley | Red Centre, Dark Heart by Evan McHugh | NA | NA | Marele Day | [13] |
| 2009 | Deep Water by Peter Corris and Smoke and Mirrors by Kel Robertson | Ghostlines by Nick Gadd | NA | NA | Shane Maloney | [14] | |
| Best Novel | scope=col | Best First Novel | scope=col | Best True Crime | scope=col | Lifetime Achievement | scope=col | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Wyatt by Garry Disher | Peter Doyle | [15] | |||||
| 2011 | The Diggers Rest Hotel by Geoffrey McGeachin | Prime Cut by Alan Carter | Abandoned - The Sad Death of Dianne Brimble by Geesche Jacobsen | NA | [16] | |||
| 2012 | Pig Boy by J. C. Burke | The Cartographer by Peter Twohig | Sins of the Father: The Untold Story Behind Schapelle Corby's Ill-Fated Drug Run by Eamonn Duff | Gabrielle Lord | [17] | |||
| 2013 | Blackwattle Creek by Geoffrey McGeachin | The Midnight Promise by Zane Lovitt | The People Smuggler by Robin de Crespigny | NA | [18] | |||
| 2014 | In the Morning I'll Be Gone by Adrian McKinty | Hades by Candice Fox | Murder in Mississippi by John Safran | NA | ||||
| 2015 | Eden by Candice Fox | Quota by Jock Serong | This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial by Helen Garner | NA | [19] [20] | |||
| 2016 | Before It Breaks by Dave Warner | Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic | Certain Admissions by Gideon Haigh | NA | ||||
| 2017 | Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty | The Dry by Jane Harper | (tie) Getting Away With Murder by Duncan McNab The Drowned Man by Brendan James Murray | NA | [21] | |||
| 2018 | Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill | The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey | Unmaking a Murder: The Mysterious Death of Anna-Jane Cheney by Graham Archer | Garry Disher | [22] [23] | |||
| 2019 | The Lost Man by Jane Harper | The Rúin by Dervla McTiernan | Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee | Bob Bottom | [24] | |||
| Best Novel | scope=col | Best First Novel | scope=col | Best True Crime | scope=col | Best International Crime | scope=col | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Wife and the Widow by Christian White | Present Tense by Natalie Conyer | Bowraville by Dan Box | The Chain by Adrian McKinty | [25] [26] | |||
| 2021 | Consolation by Garry Disher | The Second Son by Loraine Peck | Stalking Claremont by Bret Christian | We Begin at the End by Chris Whittaker | [27] | |||
| 2022 | Banjawarn by Josh Kemp | Banquet: The Untold Story of Adelaide's Family Murders by Debi Marshall | The Maid by Nita Prose | [28] | ||||
| 2023 | Wake by Shelley Burr | Betrayed by Sandi Logan | The Lemon Man by Keith Bruton | [29] [30] | ||||
| Author | scope=col | Title | scope=col | Result | scope=col | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Wyatt | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | [31] | |||||
| Bleed For Me | ||||||
| 2011 | Winner | [32] | ||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| Bereft | ||||||
| 2012 | Pig Boy | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | [33] | |||||
| Chelsea Mansions | ||||||
| 2013 | Blackwattle Creek | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | [34] | |||||
| Web of Deceit | ||||||
| I Hear The Sirens In The Street | ||||||
| Silent Valley | ||||||
| 2014 | In The Morning I'll Be Gone | Winner | [35] | |||
| Bitter Wash Road | Finalist | [36] [37] | ||||
| Fatal Impact | ||||||
| Beams Falling | ||||||
| One Boy Missing | ||||||
| 2015 | Eden | Winner | ||||
| Sweet One | Finalist | [38] | ||||
| Crucifixion Creek | ||||||
| Gun Street Girl | ||||||
| Present Darkness | ||||||
| 2016 | Dave Warner | Before It Breaks | Winner | [39] | ||
| R&R | Finalist | [40] | ||||
| Fall | ||||||
| Ash Island | ||||||
| Rain Dogs | ||||||
| 2017 | Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly | Winner | [41] | |||
| Crimson Lake | Finalist | |||||
| Ann Turner | Out of the Ice | |||||
| 2018 | Crossing the Lines | Winner | ||||
| Marlborough Man | Finalist | [42] | ||||
| Under Cold Bright Lights | ||||||
| Redemption Point | ||||||
| 2019 | Winner | [43] | ||||
| Kill Shot: A Wyatt Thriller | Finalist | [44] [45] | ||||
| Gone by Midnight | ||||||
| Live and Let Fry | ||||||
| 2020 | Winner | |||||
| Finalist | [46] | |||||
| Death of a Typographer | ||||||
| Dave Warner | River of Salt | |||||
| True West | ||||||
| 2021 | Consolation | Winner | [47] | |||
| Gathering Dark | Finalist | [48] | ||||
| Tell Me Lies | ||||||
| When She Was Good | ||||||
| White Throat | ||||||
| 2022 | Winner | [49] | ||||
| Finalist | [50] | |||||
| You Had it Coming | ||||||
| Kill Your Brother | ||||||
| 2023 | Exiles | Winner | ||||
| When We Fall | Finalist | [51] | ||||
| Soulmate | ||||||
| Seven Sisters | ||||||
| Lying Beside You | ||||||
| Those Who Perish | ||||||
| Author | scope=col | Title | scope=col | Result | scope=col | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | King of the Cross | Winner | ||||
| Death and the Running Patterer | Finalist | |||||
| Document Z | ||||||
| 2011 | Prime Cut | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| Line of Sight | ||||||
| 2012 | Winner | |||||
| When We Have Wings | Finalist | |||||
| 2013 | Winner | |||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| and Chris Uhlmann | ||||||
| Murder with the Lot | ||||||
| 2014 | Hades | Winner | ||||
| Dead Cat Bounce | Finalist | |||||
| Blood Witness | ||||||
| Every Breath | ||||||
| 2015 | Quota | Winner | ||||
| King of the Road | Finalist | |||||
| What Came Before | ||||||
| Chasing the Ace | ||||||
| 2016 | Resurrection Bay | Winner | ||||
| Please Don't Leave Me Here | Finalist | |||||
| Good Money | ||||||
| Amplify | ||||||
| Skin Deep | ||||||
| Four Days | ||||||
| 2017 | Winner | |||||
| Burn Patterns | Finalist | |||||
| Something for Nothing | ||||||
| Only Daughter | ||||||
| Goodwood | ||||||
| 2018 | Winner | |||||
| Wimmera | Finalist | |||||
| See What I Have Done | ||||||
| 2019 | The Rúin | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| Greenlight | ||||||
| 2020 | Present Tense | Winner | ||||
| Eight Lives | Finalist | |||||
| Where the Truth Lies | ||||||
| Six Minutes | ||||||
| Lapse | ||||||
| 2021 | Winner | |||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| 2022 | Banjawarn | Winner | ||||
| Sweet Jimmy | Finalist | |||||
| Shadow Over Edmund Street | ||||||
| Cutters End | ||||||
| 2023 | Wake | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| How to Kill a Client | ||||||
| Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder | ||||||
| Dirt Town | ||||||
| Black River | ||||||
| No Country for Girls | ||||||
| Denizen |
| Author | scope=col | Title | scope=col | Result | scope=col | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Winner | |||||
| 2021 | We Begin at the End | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| Take Me Apart | ||||||
| Broken | ||||||
| 2022 | Winner | |||||
| Case Study | Finalist | |||||
| Cry Wolf | ||||||
| 2023 | Winner | |||||
| Paper Cage | Finalist | |||||
| Author | scope=col | Title | scope=col | Result | scope=col | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Pitcairn: Paradise Lost | Winner | ||||
| Crooks like Us | Finalist | |||||
| Medical Murder: Disturbing Cases of Doctors Who Kill | ||||||
| 2011 | Abandoned: The Sad Death of Dianne Brimble | Winner | ||||
| Wasted | Finalist | |||||
| and Jennifer Cooke | Honeymoon Dive | |||||
| 2012 | Sins of the Father | Winner | ||||
| Call Me Cruel | Finalist | |||||
| Cold Case File | ||||||
| 2013 | Winner | |||||
| Every Parent's Nightmare | Finalist | |||||
| Dead by Friday | ||||||
| Eugenia | ||||||
| 2014 | Murder in Mississippi | Winner | ||||
| Disgraced? | Finalist | |||||
| and Denise Hofman | Forever Nine | |||||
| and Jenny Tabakoff | No Mercy | |||||
| Outlaw Bikers in Australia | ||||||
| 2015 | Winner | |||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| and Linton Besser | He Who Must Be Obeid | |||||
| 2016 | Certain Admissions | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| Killing Love | ||||||
| Kidnapped | ||||||
| 2017 | Getting Away with Murder | Winner | ||||
| Code of Silence | Finalist | |||||
| Roger Rogerson | ||||||
| Denny Day | ||||||
| Murder at Myall Creek | ||||||
| 2018 | Unmaking A Murder: The Mysterious Death of Anna Jane Cheney | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| Whiteley on Trial | ||||||
| 2019 | Eggshell Skull | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| Siege: Inside the Lindt Cafe | ||||||
| Waiting for Elijah | ||||||
| 2020 | Bowraville | Winner | ||||
| Dead Man Walking: The murky world of Michael McGurk and Ron Medich | Finalist | |||||
| and Kevin Meagher | Shark Arm | |||||
| Snakes and Ladders | ||||||
| 2021 | Stalking Claremont: Inside the hunt for a serial killer | Winner | ||||
| Finalist | ||||||
| Public Enemies | ||||||
| Hazelwood | ||||||
| Witness | ||||||
| 2022 | Banquet: The untold story of Adelaide's family murders | Winner | ||||
| and Kylie Stevenson | Larrimah | Finalist | ||||
| 2023 | Betrayed | Winner | ||||
| Tiger! Tiger | Tiger! | Finalist | ||||
| Rattled | ||||||
| Out of the Ashes | ||||||
| Death Row at Truro |