The Australian Crime Writers Association is dedicated to promoting greater recognition for crime, thriller and mystery writing in Australia and to protect the general professional interests of all creators of crime and mystery works.
2021 Award Entries Now Closed
We cannot wait to read your entries and announce the shortlists later in the year.

About The Ned Kelly Awards
The Ned Kelly Awards are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious prizes honouring published crime fiction and true crime writing.
past winners
Click below to view a list of winners all the way back to the Ned Kelly Awards’ humble beginnings.
Latest News
Recent goings-on in Australian Crime writing.
The Australian Crime Writers Association is proud to launch the 2026 Ned Kelly Awards for Australian crime writers.
The Louie Award for fast fiction crime writing for 2026 is Richard Morton for his story - Low Tide. And our two highly commended writers: Teresa Ammirato for her story, Limoncello and Travis Reid for his story, Hands Beneath Hosier.
Flex those fingers! Entries are open for the Australian Crime Writers Association’s annual fast fiction crime writing competition - The Louie Award.
Past Newsletters
New Releases
A selection of new titles written and published by ACWA members.
After serving twenty years behind bars for the murder of her daughter, Ashley, Olivia struggles to piece her life back together; wracked with guilt and haunted by memories. When Ashley’s old journals come to light, they plunge Olivia into a devastating nightmare where history seems set to repeat itself.
Publisher: MJ Judge
Published: 7 March 2026
When a jaded Sydney investment banker is blamed for the failure of a gold mine on a remote island, his plans to regain control get out of hand.
Murders in a flooded Australian town, vendetta in the Sumatran jungle, drama on the high seas, no one is to be trusted.
Publisher: Hawkeye Publishing
Published: November 2025
Diamonds, furs and murder: the many crimes of Mona Hayes is a historical fiction inspired by the life and crimes of little-known 1930s thief Mona Hayes. Described by police as a well-educated, exceptionally clever crook - if she sees something she wants, she takes it. Most women don’t do that.
Publisher: Ginninderra Press
Published: 1 March 2026
The dying coastal town of Broughlet is being torn apart by wildfires. The People's Cleansing Light is suspected of setting the blazes. Amid the smog, Constable Dahlia Turner discovers her best friends murdered and their son abducted. Finding him will mean confronting the past she's spent years trying to outrun.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Published: 24 February 2026
A latter-day 'Crime and Punishment', 'The Wykehamist' explores the motivations behind a vicious murder, on a journey which meanders through the May balls and parties of Cambridge, to the glass towers and neon lights of London and Hong Kong.
Publisher: Black Spring Press Group
Published: March 25
