Scarlet Stiletto Selections

Sisters in Crime Australia announced winners of their 32nd Scarlet Stilleto Awards at a gala dinner held on Friday night (November 21) at the William Angliss Institute in Melbourne. The award was created in 1994 for crime fiction short stories written by Australian women and featuring a strong female protagonist. The organization also sponsors the annual Davitt Awards for crime novels by Australian women. This year's winners, who competed for a total of $13,050 in prize money, include:

Scarlet Stiletto Award First Prize:  Dr. Sandra Thom-Jones, "Der Hölle Rache." 

The Simon & Schuster Second Prize: Nette Hilton, "Without A Word"

Sun Bookshop & Fremantle Press Third Prize:  Jacqui Horwood, "Rebel Girl"

Echo Publishing Award for Best Young Writer: Amber Woodburne, "A Midnight Murder"

Melbourne Athenaeum Body-in-the-Library Library Award:  Julia Harris, "Return or Die"

Melbourne Athenaeum Body-in-the-Library Library Runner-Up Award: Natalie Conyer, "The Ghost Detective"

HQ Fiction Award for Best Thriller: Tegan Huntley for "Vanish"

Clan Destine Press Award for Cross Genre: Alyssa Mackay, "Nan and Lila Investigate a Murder"

Kerry Greenwood Malice Domestic Award: January Gilchrist, "The Art of Letting Go"

ScriptWorks Great Film Idea Award: Sally Ross, "Reasonable Doubt"

Bolton Clarke Award for Best Art and Crime Story: Linda Brandon, "The Spanish Connection"

Every Cloud Productions’ Phryne Mystery with History Award: Liz Filleul, "A Time for Crime"

Cate Kennedy Award for Best Story Inspired by a Forensic Clue: Sarah Mayo Tighe, "Franklin Has Questions"

Writers’ Victoria Crime and Punishment Award for the most satisfying retribution: Laree Chapman, "Capeweed"

Highly commended framed certificates also went to:

• Lara Bailey (Diamond Creek, VIC) for ’Game Face’
• Alison Birrane (Floreat, WA) for ‘Bill Came Due‘
• Sue Clapton (North Lake, WA) for ‘One Wrong‘ [Absent from ceremony.]
• Natalie Conyer (Mosman, NSW) for ‘Here for You’
• Kathryn Errey (Halifax, SA) for ‘The Spinster Who Came Down off the Shelf’
• Dawn Farnham (Yokine, WA) for ‘Requiem for the Innocent’ [Absent from ceremony.]
• Kath Harper (Port Fairy, VIC) for ‘Cat and Mouse’
• Megan Heyward (Booker Bay, NSW) for ‘Small Treacheries’
• Julia Miller (Adelaide, SA) for ‘The Prize’
• Merryl Parker (Takone, Tas) For ‘Dingo’
• Alison Pascoe (Banora Point, NSW) for ‘The Boss That Wasn’t’
• Helen Richardson (Anna Bay, NSW) for ‘Washed Up’
• Bridget Robertson (Strathdale, VIC) for ‘The Outsider’
• Vicki Skidmore (Essendon, VIC) for ‘A Friend in Need’
• Nikki Thompson–McWatters (Blackheath, NSW)for ‘Why?’
• Katrina Watson (Balaclava, VIC) for ‘Affairs in Order’
• Jennifer White (Sandford, VIC) for ‘The Last Chapter’