A Digital Delivery of Davitts

For the second year in a row, Sisters in Crime Australia announced the winners of its annual Davitt Awards exclusively online. That news was carried last evening (Australia time) via Facebook, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make in-person gatherings hazardous. Recipients of the 2021 Davitts—named for Ellen Davitt (1812-1879), Australia’s first crime novelist—are as follows.

Best Adult Crime Novel:
The Good Sister, by Sally Hepworth (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Also nominated: Death Beyond the Limit, by B.M. Allsopp (Coconut Press); Deadman’s Track, by Sarah Barrie (HQ Fiction); Gathering Dark, by Candice Fox (Penguin Random House Australia); A Testament of Character, by Sulari Gentill (Pantera Press); Where the Truth Lies, by Karina Kilmore (Simon & Schuster Australia); The Deceptions, by Suzanne Leal (Allen & Unwin); Stone Sky Gold Mountain, by Mirandi Riwoe (University of Queensland Press); and Torched, by Kimberley Starr (Pantera Press)

Best Young Adult Crime Novel:
Where We Begin, by Christie Nieman (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Also nominated: The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love, by Davina Bell (Text); Deep Water, by Sarah Epstein (Allen & Unwin Children’s); None Shall Sleep, by Ellie Marney (Allen & Unwin Children’s); and The Girl with the Gold Bikini, by Lisa Walker (Wakefield Press)

Best Children’s Crime Novel:
A Clue for Clara, by Lian Tanner (Allen & Unwin Children’s)

Also nominated: The Ghost of Howlers Beach, by Jackie French (HarperCollins Australia); The Grandest Bookshop in the World, by Amelia Mellor (Affirm Press); The Secret Library of Hummingbird House, by Julianne Negri (Affirm Press); The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle, by Pamela Rushby (Walker Australia); and The Book of Chance, by Sue Whiting (Walker Australia)

Best Non-fiction Crime Book:
Witness: An Investigation into the Brutal Cost of Seeking Justice, by Louise Milligan (Hachette Australia)

Also nominated: After the Count: The Death of Davey Browne, by Stephanie Convery (Viking); The Case of George Pell: Reckoning with Child Sexual Abuse, by Melissa Davey (Scribe); Missing William Tyrrell, by Caroline Overington (HarperCollins Australia); and Snakes and Ladders: A Memoir, by Angela Williams, (Affirm Press)

Best Debut Crime Book:
Sheerwater, by Leah Swann (4th Estate)

Also nominated: Inheritance of Secrets, by Sonya Bates (HarperCollins Australia); The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love, by Davina Bell (Text); The Case of George Pell: Reckoning with Child Sexual Abuse, by Melissa Davey (Scribe); The Safe Place, by Anna Downes (Affirm Press); Troubled Waters, by Mary Jones (Green Olive Press); Where the Truth Lies, by Karina Kilmore (Simon & Schuster Australia); The Grandest Bookshop in the World, by Amelia Mellor (Affirm Press); The Mother Fault, by Kate Mildenhall (Simon & Schuster Australia); The Secret Library of Hummingbird House, by Julianne Negri (Affirm Press); A Clue for Clara, by Lian Tanner (Allen & Unwin Children’s); and The Girl with the Gold Bikini, by Lisa Walker (Wakefield Press)

Winner of the Readers Choice Award:
The Shifting Landscape, by Katherine Kovacic (Bonnier Echo)

Three cheers to all of this year’s contenders!

(Hat tip to Shotsmag Confidential.)