Ned Kelly Awards 2025 shortlists announced

The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2025 Ned Kelly Awards shortlists.

The shortlisted titles are:

Best crime fiction

• 17 Years Later (JP Pomare, Hachette)
• Cold Truth (Ashley Kalagian Blunt, Ultimo)
• The Creeper (Margaret Hickey, Penguin)
• Highway 13 (Fiona McFarlane, A&U)
• Sanctuary (Garry Disher, Text)
• Shadow City (Natalie Conyer, Echo)
• Storm Child (Michael Robotham, Hachette)
• Unbury the Dead (Fiona Hardy, Affirm)

Best true crime writing

• The Kingpin and the Crooked Cop (Neil Mercer, A&U)
• The Lasting Harm (Lucia Osborne-Crowley, A&U)
• Meadow’s Law (Quentin McDermott, ABC Books)
• They’ll Never Hold Me (Michael Adams, Affirm)
• A Thousand Miles from Care (Steve Johnson, HarperCollins)

Best international crime fiction

• A Case of Matricide (Graeme Macrae Burnet, Text)
• Home Truths (Charity Norman, A&U)
• Leave the Girls Behind (Jacqueline Bublitz, A&U)
• Moscow X (David McCloskey, Swift Press)
• Return to Blood (Michael Bennett, S&S)
• The Waiting (Michael Connelly, A&U).

The shortlist for best debut crime fiction was announced on 7 August. The overall winners will be announced in September 2025.

Last year’s winners included Darling Girls (Sally Hepworth, Macmillan), The Only Suspect (Louise Candlish, S&S), Crossing the Line (Nick McKenzie, Hachette) and Murder in the Pacific: Ifira Point (Matt Francis, Big Sky).

More information is available on the Australian Crime Writers Association website.

Category: Awards Local news