Awesome Aussies

Sisters in Crime Australia unveile the 2026 Davitt Awards Longlists, culled from 126 books entered across four categories. The judges of the 2026 Davitt Awards have selected a longlist of 28 books that reflect the excellent quality and maturity of stories written by Australian women crime writers. Ruth Wykes, Davitt Awards Judges’ Chair, said the 2026 entries that stood out "were the ones that entertained, challenged, taught us, and stayed with us long after we had read the final chapters. Stories that were bold and brave, or beautifully nuanced." 

Judging continues for the Davitt Awards’ shortlist which will be announced in July, with winners announced in August/September. Voting for the Kerry Greenwood Readers’ Choice Award will commence at another time.

Adult Fiction

• Shaeden Barry, At Café 64, (Echo Publishing)
• Jane Caro, Lyrebird, (Allen & Unwin)
• Shankari Chandran, Unfinished Business, (Ultimo Press)
• Pip Fioretti, Skull River, (Affirm Press)
• Sara Foster, When She Was Gone, (Harper Collins Australia)
• Susan Francis, Revelation Beach, (Wild Dingo Press)
• Zeyneb Gamieldien, Learned Behaviours, (Ultimo Press)
• Fiona Hardy, Unbury The Dead, (Affirm Press)
• Sally Hepworth, Mad Mabel, (Macmillan Australia)
• Elise Janes, The Canvas Killings, (JETT Books)
• Joanna Jenkins, The Bluff, (Allen & Unwin)
• Angie Faye Martin, Melaleuca, (HQ Fiction) Debut
• Laura McCluskey, The Wolf Tree, (Harper Collins Australia) Debut
• Fleur McDonald, The Prospect, (Harper Collins Australia)
• Tanya Scott, Stillwater, (Allen & Unwin) Debut
• Patricia Wolf, Nemesis, (Echo Publishing) 

Non-Fiction

• Sonia Orchard, Groomed, (Simon & Schuster)
• Lucy Sussex & Megan Brown, Outrageous Fortunes, the biography of Mary and Geroge Fortune, (Black Inc Books)
• Kate Wild, The Red House, (Allen & Unwin) 

Young Adult

• Amy Doak, What Have They done to Liza McLean?, (Penguin Randon House Australia)
• Kate Emery, A Murder Is Going Down, (Allen & Unwin)
• Carla Salmon, We Saw What You Started, (Pan Macmillan Australia) Debut 

Children's Books

• Sarah Armstrong, Run, (Hardie Grant Children’s)
• Jacqueline Harvey, The Girl and the Ghost, (Penguin Randon House Australia)
• Amelia Mellor, Oceanforged: The Wicked Ship, (Simon & Schuster Australia)
• Gisela Ervin-Ward, True South, (Midnight Sun) Debut
• Jessica Townsend, Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow, (Hachette Children’s)
• Sue Whiting, Promises and Other Lies, (Walker Books)