Davitt Awards

The Davitt Awards are presented each year by the Sisters in Crime Australia association to celebrate crime fiction written by women for both adults and young adults. The award is named in honour of Ellen Davitt (1812 – 1879) who wrote Australia’s first mystery novel which was titled Force in Fraud and was published in 1865.

The Davitt Award was first bestowed in 2001 and consisted of only the Adult Fiction category. Over the years the categories presented have grown to include the Best Adult Novel, Best Young Adult Novel (first awarded in 2002), True Crime (first awarded in 2007), Debut Novel (first awarded in 2012) and Best Children’s Novel (first awarded in 2014).

Shortlists have only been provided since 2012 and so they have been included in this list from that year on.

The winner or joint winners in each category have been listed first and have been highlighted in bold.

2024

Best Adult Novel

When One of Us Hurts by Monica Vuu
The Chasm by Bronwyn Hall
The Tea Ladies by Amanda Hampson
The Half Brother by Christine Keighery
Prima Facie by Suzie Miller
Exquisite Corpse by Marija Peričić
The Fall Between by Darcy Tindale

Best Debut Crime Book

The Half Brother by Christine Keighery

Best Young Adult Novel

Eleanor Jones Is Not a Murderer by Amy Doak
Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney

Best Children's Novel

The Wolves of Greycoat Hall by Lucinda Gifford
Copycat by Kelli Anne Hawkins
The First Summer of Callie McGee by Allison Tait
This Camp Is Doomed: A Dennith Grange misadventure by Anna Zobel

Best True Crime

The Schoolgirl, Her Teacher and His Wife by Rebecca Hazel
Reclaim: Understanding complex trauma and those who abuse by Ahona Guha
Ghosts of the Orphanage by Christine Kenneally
Obsession by Nicole Madigan

Reader's Choice

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman

2023

Best Adult Novel

All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
Release by Lucy Christopher
When We Fall by Aoife Clifford
Stone Town by Margaret Hickey
The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie
The Unbelieved by Vikki Petraitis
Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
No Country for Girls by Emma Styles

Best Debut Crime Book

Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
The Cane by Maryrose Cuskelly
All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie
The Unbelieved by Vikki Petraitis
No Country for Girls by Emma Styles

Best Young Adult Novel

Seven Days by Fleur Ferris
The Hidden Girl by Louise Bassett
Night Lights by Sarah Epstein
The Killing Code by Ellie Marney

Best Children's Novel

The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-bottomed Boat by Charlie Archbold
The Book of Wondrous Possibilities by Deborah Abela
Rita’s Revenge by Lian Tanner

Best True Crime

Out of the Ashes by Megan Norris
Don’t Make a Fuss: It’s only the Claremont Serial Killer by Wendy Davis
Legitimate Sexpectations: The power of sex-ed by Katrina Marson

2022

Best Adult Novel

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie
Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
You Had It Coming by B M Carroll
All That I Remember About Dean Cola by Tania Chandler
Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down
Shelter by Catherine Jinks
The Beautiful Words by Vanessa McCausland
The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald
The Second Son by Loraine Peck
The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart

Best Debut Crime Book

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
Shadow Over Edmund Street by Suzanne Frankham
Larrimah: A missing man, an eyeless croc and an outback town of 11 people who mostly hate each other by Caroline Graham & Kylie Stevenson
The Waterhole by Lily Malone
Unsheltered by Clare Moleta
The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald
The Second Son by Loraine Peck
Shiver by Allie Reynolds
Crime Writer by Dime Sheppard
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart

Best Young Adult Novel

The Gaps by Leanne Hall
Dirt Circus League by Maree Kimberley
Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Best Children's Novel

The Detective’s Guide to Ocean Travel by Nicki Greenberg
Night Ride into Danger by Jackie French
Ella at Eden #6: The London Thief by Laura Sieveking

2021

Best Adult Novel

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
Death Beyond the Limit by B M Allsopp
Gathering Dark by Candice Fox
A Testament of Character by Sulari Gentill
Where the Truth Lies by Karina Kilmore
The Deceptions by Suzanne Leal
Stone Sky Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe
Torched by Kimberley Starr

Best Debut Crime Book

Sheerwater by Leah Swann
Inheritance of Secrets by Sonya Bates
The End of the World Is Bigger than Love by Davina Bell
The Case of George Pell: Reckoning with child sexual abuse by Melissa Davey
The Safe Place by Anna Downes
Troubled Waters by Mary Jones
Where the Truth Lies by Karina Kilmore
The Grandest Bookshop in the World by Amelia Mellor
The Mother Fault by Kate Mildenhall
The Secret Library of Hummingbird House by Julianne Negri
A Clue for Clara by Lian Tanner
The Girl with the Gold Bikini by Lisa Walker

Best Young Adult Novel

Where We Begin by Christie Nieman
The End of the World Is Bigger than Love by Davina Bell
Deep Water by Sarah Epstein
None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney
The Girl with the Gold Bikini by Lisa Walker

Best Children's Novel

A Clue for Clara by Lian Tanner
The Ghost of Howlers Beach by Jackie French
The Grandest Bookshop in the World by Amelia Mellor
The Secret Library of Hummingbird House by Julianne Negri
The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle by Pamela Rushby
The Book of Chance by Sue Whiting

2020

Best Adult Novel

The Trespassers by Meg Mundell
Bruny by Heather Rose
Eight Lives by Susan Hurley
Life Before by Carmel Reilly
Present Tense by Natalie Conyer
The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan
Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern

Best Debut Crime Book

Eight Lives by Susan Hurley
Banking Bad: Whistleblowers. Corporate cover-ups by Adele Ferguson
The Bee and the Orange Tree by Melissa Ashley
The Drover’s Wife by Leah Purcell
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
Life Before by Carmel Reilly
Present Tense by Natalie Conyer
Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern
Troll Hunting: Inside the world of online hate and its human fallout by Ginger Gorman

Best Young Adult Novel

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
All That Impossible Space by Anna Morgan
When the Ground is Hard by Malla Nunn

Best Children's Novel

The Girl in the Mirror by Jenny Blackford
The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Lucerne by Katrina Nannestad
Jinxed!: The curious curse of Cora Bell by Rebecca McRitchie
Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery by Renée Treml

2019

Best Adult Novel

The Rúin by Dervla McTiernan
This I Would Kill For by Anne Buist
Second Sight by Aoife Clifford
Redemption Point by Candice Fox
Mine by Susi Fox
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Wintering by Krissy Kneen
The Killing of Louisa by Janet Lee
Live and Let Fry by Sue Williams

Best Young Adult Novel

Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein
Found by Fleur Ferris
The Finder by Kate Hendrick
White Night by Ellie Marney
After the Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson

Best Children's Novel

Wakestone Hall by Judith Rossell
The Relic of the Blue Dragon: Children of the Dragon #1 by Rebecca Lim
The Peacock Detectives by Carly Nugent
His Name Was Walter by Emily Rodda
The Mystery of the Squashed Cockroach: The Peski Kids #1 by R A Spratt

Best True Crime

The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper
Trace: Who killed Maria James? by Rachael Brown
Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
Gorgeous Girl by Mary Pershall
The Lindt Café Siege by Deborah Snow
Waiting for Elijah by Kate Wild

Best Debut

Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
Trace: Who killed Maria James? by Rachael Brown
Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein
Mine by Susi Fox
Wintering by Krissy Kneen
The Finder by Kate Hendrick
The Killing of Louisa by Janet Lee
The Peacock Detectives by Carly Nugent
Gorgeous Girl by Mary Pershall
The Lindt Café Siege by Deborah Snow
Waiting for Elijah by Kate Wild

2018

Best Adult Novel

And Fire Came Down by Emma Viskic
The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey
The Hidden Hours by Sara Foster
Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill
Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Best Young Adult Novel

Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield
No Limits by Ellie Marney
Jack of Spades by Sophie Masson

Best Children's Novel

The Turnkey by Allison Rushby
Welcome to Willowvale by Rebecca Johnson
Whimsy and Woe by Rebecca McRitchie
Squishy Taylor and the Silver Suitcase by Ailsa Wild

Whiteley on Trial by Gabriella Coslovich
The Fabulous Flying Mrs Miller by Carol Baxter
The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
Cardinal: The rise and fall of George Pell by Louise Milligan

Best Debut

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey
Whiteley on Trial by Gabriella Coslovich
The Girl from Keller’s Way by Megan Goldin
Welcome to Willowvale by Rebecca Johnson
The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
Whimsy and Woe by Rebecca McRitchie
Cardinal: The rise and fall of George Pell by Louise Milligan
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
Half Wild by Pip Smith
Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield 

2017

Best Adult Novel

The Dry by Jane Harper
Dead in the Water by Tania Chandler
Ghost Girls by Cath Ferla
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta
Goodwood by Holly Throsby

Best Young Adult Novel

Frankie by Shivaun Plozza
Yellow by Megan Jacobson
Everything is Changed by Nova Weetman

Best Children's Novel

Wormwood Mire: A Stella Montgomery intrigue (book #2) by Judith Rossell
Theophilus Grey and the Traitor’s Mask by Catherine Jinks
Elizabeth and Zenoba by Jessica Miller
Truly Tan: Hoodwinked by Jen Storer

Best True Crime

Look What You Made Me Do: Fathers who kill by Megan Norris
Into the Darkness: The mysterious death of Phoebe Handsjuk by Robin Bowles
Who Bombed the Hilton? By Rachel Landers
Invisible Women by Ruth Wykes and Kylie Fox

Best Debut

Ghost Girls by Cath Ferla
The Dry by Jane Harper
Yellow by Megan Jacobson
Who Bombed the Hilton? by Rachel Landers
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta
Elizabeth and Zenoba by Jessica Miller
Frankie by Shivaun Plozza
Goodwood by Holly Throsby

2016

Best Adult Novel

Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic
Medea’s Curse by Anne Buist
Fall by Candice Fox
Give the Devil His Due by Sulari Gentill
Storm Clouds by Bronwyn Parry
Time to Run by J. M. Peace

Best Young Adult Novel

Risk by Fleur Ferris
In the Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker
Every Move by Ellie Marney
Stay with Me by Maureen McCarthy

Best Children's Novel

Friday Barnes 2: Under Suspicion by R. A. Spratt
Verity Sparks and the Scarlet Hand by Susan Green
Theophilus Grey and the Demon Thief by Catherine Jinks

Best True Crime

Wildman by Alecia Simmonds
Black Widow by Carol Baxter
Why Did They Do It? By Cheryl Critchley and Helen McGrath
The Sting by Kate Kyriacou
Behind Closed Doors by Sue Smetherst
You’re Just Too Good to Be True by Sofija Stefanovic

Best Debut

Risk by Fleur Ferris
Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic
In the Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker
Medea’s Curse by Anne Buist
Please Don’t Leave Me Here by Tania Chandler
Double Madness by Caroline de Costa
Good Money by J. M. Green
Time to Run by J. M. Peace
The Lost Swimmer by Ann Turner

2015

Best Adult Novel

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Through the Cracks by Honey Brown
Forbidden Fruit by Ilsa Evans
A Murder Unmentioned by Sulari Gentill
A Morbid Habit by Annie Hauxwell
Present Darkness by Malla Nunn

Best Young Adult Novel

Every Word by Ellie Marney
Intruder by Christine Bongers
The Astrologer’s Daughter by Rebecca Lim
The Ratcatcher’s Daughter by Pamela Rushby

Best Children's Novel

Withering-by-Sea by Judith Rossell
The Adventures of Stunt Boy and His Amazing Wonder Dog Blindfold by Lollie Barr
Kitten Kaboodle Mission 1: The Catier Emerald by Eileen O’Hely
Friday Barnes: Big Trouble by R A Spratt
Truly Tan #4: Freaked! by Jen Storer

Best True Crime

Last Woman Hanged by Caroline Overington
Love You to Death: A story of sex, betrayal and murder gone wrong by Megan Norris
Have You Seen Simone? The story of an unsolved murder by Virginia Peters
The Tainted Trial of Farah Jama by Julie Szego

Best Debut

2014

Best Adult Novel

Dark Horse by Honey Brown
Nefarious Doings by Ilsa Evans
A Bitter Taste by Annie Hauxwell
Web of Deceit by Katherine Howell
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Dying Beach by Angela Savage

Best Young Adult Novel

The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee
Girl Defective by Simmone Howell
Cry Blue Murder by Kim Kane and Marion Roberts
Every Breath by Ellie Marney
A Ring Through Time by Felicity Pulman

Best Children's Novel

Truly Tan: Spooked! by Jen Storer
The Perplexing Pineapple: The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno (and Alberta) Book 1 by Ursula Dubosarsky
The Looming Lamplight: The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno (and Alberta) Book 2 by Ursula Dubosarsky
Verity Sparks: Lost and Found by Susan Green
Truly Tan: Jinxed! by Jen Storer

Best True Crime

Night Games: Sex, Power and Sport by Anna Krien
Deadly Australian Women by Kay Saunders

Best Debut

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
A Trifle Dead by Livia Day
The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee
Girl Defective by Simmone Howell
Every Breath Ellie Marney

2013

Best Adult Novel

Best Children's / Young Adult

The Tunnels of Tarcoola by Jennifer Walsh
The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett
Moonlight and Ashes by Sophie Masson
Truly Tan by Jen Storer 

Best True Crime

The Waterlow Killings by Pamela Burton
Missing You by Justine Ford

Best Debut

2012

Best Adult Novel

Best Children's / Young Adult

Surface Tension by Meg McKinlay
The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky
Dangerously Placed by Nansi Kunze

Best True Crime

Cold Case Files: Past Crimes Solved by New Forensic Science by Liz Porter
The Australian Book of Family Murders by Wendy Lewis

Best Debut

Beyond Fear by Jaye Ford

2011

Best Adult Fiction

Cold Justice by Katherine Howell

Best Children's / Young Adult

A Girl Like Me by Penny Matthews

Best True Crime

Murderer No More by Colleen Egan

2010

Best Adult Fiction

Sharp Shooter by Marianne Delacourt

Best Children's / Young Adult

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Best True Crime

Lady Killer by Ellen Connolly and Candace Sutton

2009

Best Adult Fiction

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn

Best Children's / Young Adult

Best True Crime

The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island by Chloe Hooper

2008

Best Adult Fiction

Frantic by Katherine Howell

Best Children's / Young Adult

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes by Mandy Sayer

Best True Crime

Killing Jodie by Janet Fife-Yeomans

2007

Best Adult Fiction

Undertow by Sydney Bauer

Best Children's / Young Adult

The Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

Best True Crime

Silent Death: The Killing of Julie Ramage by Karen Kissane

2006

Best Adult Fiction

The Butterfly Man by Heather Rose

Best Children's / Young Adult

Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks

2005

Best Adult Fiction

Malicious Intent by Kathryn Fox

Best Children's / Young Adult

Devastation Road by Joanna Baker

2004

Best Adult Fiction

Due Preparations for the Plague by Janette Turner Hospital

Best Children's / Young Adult

Muck-Up Day by Ruth Starke

2003

Best Adult Fiction

Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing by Gabrielle Lord
Blood Redemption by Alex Palmer

Best Children's / Young Adult

Fireworks and Darkness by Natalie Jane Prior

2002

Best Adult Fiction

A Simple Death by Carolyn Morwood

Best Children's / Young Adult

Three-Pronged Dagger by Kerry Greenwood

2001

Best Adult Fiction

Eye to Eye by Caroline Shaw