This Is Becoming a Regular Habit

Australian crime novelist Peter Temple might just have to invest in some more bookcases, should he continue to collect prizes for his writing. Last evening, he snapped up his fifth Ned Kelly Award, bestowed upon him by the Crime Writers’ Association of Australia in honor of his 2005 novel, The Broken Shore. This marks the Ballarat, Victoria, author’s fourth Kelly victory in the Best Crime Novel category (his previous book, White Dog, scored that same award); in addition, Bad Debts, the first entry in Temple’s series featuring solicitor-cum-sleuth Jack Irish, picked up one of two Best First Crime Novel commendations given in 1997.

Temple wasn’t the only one celebrating after the Ned Kelly presentations, which were made during this year’s annual Age Melbourne Writers’ Festival. The Broken Shore, in fact, shared the Best Novel win with Crook as Rookwood, by Chris Nyst, a Gold Coast lawyer turned author.

Here’s the full shortlist of Ned Kelly nominees and winners for 2006:

Best Novel (tie): The Broken Shore, by Peter Temple (Text Publishing), and Crook as Rookwood, by Chris Nyst (HarperCollins)

Also nominated: Rendezvous at Kamakura Inn, by Marshall Browne (Random House); Saving Billy, by Peter Corris (Allen & Unwin); Rubdown, by Leigh Redhead (Allen & Unwin); and Five Oranges, by Graham Reilly (Hachette Livre)

Best First Novel: Out of Silence: A Story of Love, Betrayal, Politics and Murder, by Wendy James (Random House)

Also nominated: Head Shot, by Jarad Henry (Thompson Walker); and Dead Set, by Kel Robertson (Text Publishing)

Best True Crime: Packing Death, by Lachlan McCulloch (Sly Ink)

Also nominated: You’ll Never Take Me Alive, by Nick Bleszynski (Random House); In Your Face, by Rochelle Jackson (ABC Books); Norfolk: Island of Secrets, by Tim Latham (Allen & Unwin); and And Then the Darkness, by Sue Williams (ABC Books)

Lifetime Achievement Award: Andrew Rule and John Silvester

(The original, long list of Ned nominees can be found here.)