The Divine Davitts

Sisters in Crime Australia revealed the winners of the 2026 Davitt Awards, culled from 126 books entered across four categories, reflecting the best of crime fiction published in the past year by Australian women crime writers. Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

Adult Fiction:  Joanna Jenkins, The Bluff, (Allen & Unwin)

Other finalists:

• Shaeden Barry, At Café 64, (Echo Publishing)
• Zeyneb Gamieldien, Learned Behaviours, (Ultimo Press)
• Fiona Hardy, Unbury The Dead, (Affirm Press)
• Sally Hepworth, Mad Mabel, (Macmillan Australia)
• Angie Faye Martin, Melaleuca, (HQ Fiction) Debut

Non-Fiction:  Kate Wild, The Red House, (Allen & Unwin)

Other finalists: 

• Sonia Orchard, Groomed, (Simon & Schuster)
• Lucy Sussex & Megan Brown, Outrageous Fortunes, the biography of Mary and Geroge Fortune, (Black Inc Books)

Young Adult:  Amy Doak, What Have They done to Liza McLean? (Penguin Randon House Australia)

Other finalists: 

• 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)

Other finalists: 

• Highly Commended:  Amelia Mellor, Oceanforged: The Wicked Ship, (Simon & Schuster Australia)
• Jacqueline Harvey, The Girl and the Ghost, (Penguin Randon House Australia)
• Gisela Ervin-Ward, True South, (Midnight Sun) Debut

Best Debut: Angie Faye Martin, Melaleuca, (HQ Fiction)

Kerry Greenwood Readers’ Choice Award: Sally Hepworth, Mad Mabel, (Macmillan Australia)