Book People News: The Ned Kelly Awards 2019 Winners Announced

The Ned Kelly Awards were held in Sydney on Friday September 6 at the Harold Park Tramsheds as part of the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival, where the Australian Crime Writing Association announced the winners for the NED KELLY AWARDS 2019 .Past winners have included crime writing heavyweights, Jon Cleary, Peter Corris, Adrian McKinty, Candice Fox, Helen Garner, Peter Temple and Michael Robotham. This year was a year for female authors.

The 2019 Ned Kelly winners are for Best Fiction:

• The Lost Man – Jane Harper (Macmillan Australia)
• Best First Fiction The Rúin – Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins Australia)
• Best True Crime, Eggshell Skull – Bri Lee (Allen & Unwin)

Now in its 24th year the Awards are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious crime writing awards. This year has seen the largest number of entries received in the Awards’ history.

ACWA’s Deputy Chair, Robert Goodman said, “The Ned Kelly Awards continues to celebrate the strength of the Australian crime writing scene. This year, the judges praised Jane Harper’s atmospheric and evocative outback mystery; Dervla McTiernan’s assured, complex and engaging procedural debut; and Bri Lee’s nuanced, impactful and important memoir.”

Congratulations to the winners. Have you read the winning titles?