Announcing THE LOUIE AWARD 2026
Announcing
THE LOUIE AWARD 2026
The winner of the 2026 The Louie Award for fast fiction crime writing is
Richard Morton for his story - Low Tide.
Congratulations Richard!
This year’s theme word was “bubble” and once again the judges were fascinated to read such a wide range of interpretations. The award received a record number of entries this year at 139.
The Louie Award is Australia’s fast fiction crime writing award. It is for stories of up to 500 words. The award is sponsored by Dr Antonio Di Dio in celebration of his late father Luigi.
“Despite having to write a complete story in less than 500 words, the entries were incredibly powerful and captivating,” the judges said. “The depth of talent in the Australian writing community continues to impress us each year.”
Two highly commended writers were also nominated:
- Teresa Ammirato for her story, Limoncello.
- Travis Reid for his story, Hands Beneath Hosier.
All three stories are now available to read on the Australian Crime Writers Association website. The winner receives $500 cash and the two highly commended writers receive $125 each. All three writers receive an award certificate.
About the winner:
Richard Morton is an emerging writer, in his late sixties, based in Western Australia. He recently won the City of Rockingham’s Story for the Ages competition for an essay, Late Bloomer, Early Riser about his own journey of returning to education late in life. Richard studied creative writing and has since written two novel manuscripts and several short stories and essays. Richard’s winning entry Low Tide is a cleverly rendered story with a wonderful twist.
About the highly commended writers:
Teresa Ammirato is a young Queensland based property technology consultant by day but has been a passionate creative writer and reader since childhood. The Louie Award is only her second attempt at entering a writing competition. Her fast fiction entry, Limoncello, draws on her Italian heritage. She was born in Capua (“a small and criminally underrated city”) near Naples.
Travis Reid is Victorian based debut writer who was inspired to enter The Louie Award by his daughter. His story Hands Beneath Hosier is his first completed piece of creative writing. As a fan of horror, historical fiction and crime writing, Travis describes his story as “spectral historical noir.”
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The Louie Award complements the Australian Crime Writers Association’s long standing and internationally recognised Ned Kelly Awards, Australia’s premier awards for crime writing.
The Australian Crime Writers Association is a volunteer organisation dedicated to promoting Australian crime, thriller and mystery writing for the benefit of local authors and the literary industry. The Louie Award for fast fiction helps raise awareness about the strength of the Australian crime writing scene and brings a new audience of short story readers and writers to the crime genre.
Please consider making a donation through our website or becoming a member to help support Australian writers.