Speaker 1 0:00

The Kill City podcast acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands we're on. Here in Melbourne, that's the Wurundjeri Woi Worong people of the Kulin Nation. We honour their deep connection to storytelling, a tradition carried across more than 2,000 generations. Pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging, and we extend that acknowledgement to First Nations people listening today. As always, I'm joined by Leigh. How are you today, Leigh?

Speaker 0:58

I am well, thanks, and have been waiting patiently for this announcement as there are some fantastic books by some brilliant Australian crime writers.

Speaker 1 1:07

There sure are, and just a quick refresher for anyone who's new to the show or new to the Australian crime writing landscape: the Davitt Awards are the premier crime writing awards for women in Australia. They're run by the Sisters in Crime, and every year since they kicked off, they've delivered such genuinely great moments in the crime world. Now we've talked about the Davits a lot this year, including back in episode 18, where we unpacked this year's long list, and I've been looking forward to this announcement just as much as you have, Leigh.

Speaker 1:38

So where would you like to start?

Speaker 1 1:40

Well, I think we should start at the top. I would like to start with the winner of Best Adult Fiction Award, which is The Bluff by Joanna Jenkins.

Speaker 1:48

Now this one sounds terrific, and it has been on my to be red pile for quite a while, so I'm I'm keen to dive in. Um so here's a quick read of the blurb. Uh Ruth Dawson's taken a break from big city law firm and is filling in at a mate's small town practice in middle, uh, very much not her usual scene. So when she hears the front door open, she's bracing for some oddball request or a question she's got no hope of answering. Instead, it's Bee Boulderstone's mum worried sick because she hasn't seen her 17-year-old daughter for five days. And Constable Gaza Parker won't even take a missing person's report. Ruth starts looking for B, but the whole town is a wall of indifference. Then Dash Rogers turns up dead at his farm gate, shot, and suddenly everyone in middle is very interested in where B might be.

Speaker 1 2:34

I haven't had a chance to read this one yet, but everything I've read about The Bluff makes this win really feel spot on. Because reviewers have talked about it having a tight, claustrophobic small town vibe, and how Jenkins has a knack for really writing characters who kind of get under your skin. And she's been building a really distinctive voice across her previous novels as bad neighbours and also how to kill a client. So this um this book really seems like it's the one where it's all come together for her. So look, it sounds like a really well-deserved win. Congratulations, Joanna.

Speaker 3:07

Yeah, absolutely. Now moving on to best non-fiction, that was one by Kate Wilde for The Red House. This book tackles the fatal shooting of Kumanjai. Walker by police officer Zachary Rolfe, a moment that Wilde frames as part of Australia's unfinished historical reckoning. She explores how the fear, anger, and inherited truths behind the tragedies belong to us all, and why this story keeps returning until we confront that history honestly. And it's clear that Kate Wilde brings serious authority to this work. She lived and reported from Darwin between 2010 and 2016, and her investigations laid the groundwork for the Four Corners episode on juvenile detention that ultimately prompted the Royal Commission into the protection and detention of children in the Northern Territory. Her journalism has been recognized with three Walkley Awards and a Logie, and she's known for the kind of reporting that gets to the heart of systems and the people inside them. Her first book, Waiting for Elijah, published in 2018, was widely praised. Now, Red House continues that calibre of work.

Speaker 1 4:12

Yeah, wow, this really does sound like an important piece of writing to bring to our attention and look for everyone in Australia. So it sounds like a really great read. Now moving on to Best Young Adult Prize, which went to Amy Doak for what have they done to Eliza McLean? And the plot of this book goes something like this. So the main character is Meg LaClean, and she's a scholarship student at the ultra-elite Douglas College, and she's trying to keep her head down and making the most of the opportunities there. And her younger sister Liza is along for the ride, but her behaviour keeps putting Meg's future at risk until one day it shifts so dramatically that Meg knows something is seriously wrong. That's when Benedict Hargreaves IV steps in. Now he's the school's wealthiest student, and he may be the only one not completely under Douglas College's suffocating code of conduct. Now Meg needs his help to work out what happened to her sister, but she can't tell whether he's genuinely on her side or he's part of the mysterious vee who seemed to be pulling the strings behind the scenes. Now this book is a standalone novel from Amy, who you might know from her fantastic young adult crime series, Eleanor Jones. Her debut, Eleanor Jones Is Not a Murderer, absolutely took off. It won the 2024 Davitt Award for Best Crime YA novel, was a CBCA notable, and was shortlisted for both the ABIA oldest reader book of the year and the Davitt Best Debut Crime novel. And even more excitingly, she'll be joining us on the show in the coming weeks.

Speaker 5:46

Which is very exciting. I'm looking forward to meeting her and talking about her books. Now the Best Children's Book was won by Sarah Armstrong for Run, which has been incredibly well regarded. It was named the 2026 CBCA Honour Book, and it also won the CBCA Shadow Judging Book of the Year for younger readers. Run follows Cass, who thinks running away from home will solve everything, until he ends up hopelessly lost in the Australian bush. Just when he's given up hope, he stumbles across a strange family hiding out in the wilderness. He needs their help to survive, but they're clearly on the run from something huge, something they won't even talk about. And as Cass gets drawn deeper into their world, he realizes his own problems are just beginning. It's been described as Hatchet Meets Stand By Me, a suspenseful, character-driven adventure from the author of Big Magic and Magic Arry, with a spiky, memorable cast, plenty of twists and some thorny moral dilemmas. Run is perfect for fans of Bren McDibble and Nat Amore. It's one of those books that keeps readers glued to the page.

Speaker 1 6:46

Well, that does sound like a fun read for kids. Now moving on to Best Debut, which is the one I am the most excited about because it went to Angie Faye Martin's Melaleuca, which I just adored, and I know you did too, Leigh. It was also a huge hit with my book club members.

Speaker 7:02

No, I absolutely love this one.

Speaker 1 7:04

So Angie Faye Martin is a writer of Kuma, Camilla Roy, and European Heritage. She has a Bachelor of Public Health from QUT and a Masters in Anthropology from ANU, and she spent years working in state and federal government policy before launching first writings in 2019. Now her works appeared in Meanjin, Garland, the Saltbush Review, and The Rocks Remain. And she's a member of the First Nations Australia Writers Network and accredited with the Institute of Professional Editors, so she really brings a huge amount of depth and craft to her fiction. And Melaleuca is a fabulous setup. It's set in a country town with a brutal murder and a shameful past and a reckoning that's been a long time coming. An Aboriginal policewoman Renee Taylor returns very unwillingly to the outback town she grew up in, planning only to stay as long as her mum needs her. Now she's seconded to a sleepy local station, expects nothing more dramatic than handing out speeding tickets until a murdered woman is found by the creek. And as Renee leads the investigation, she uncovers a disturbing link to the disappearance of two young women 30 years earlier. And as the mystery unfolds, the intergenerational cruelties, endemic racism, and deep correction start rising to the surface, along with some bitter truths about the town and the people that live there. It's such a tense, layered and beautifully written book, and I think absolutely deserving of best debut. And an even more good news, Angie's going to be joining us on an episode of the Kill City Podcast later this year.

Speaker 8:33

That was such a good book, and I am really looking forward to having Angie on the show. So rounding out the awards is the Kerry Greenwood Readers Choice Award, which went to Sally Hepworth for Mad Mabel. Now the hook for this one is fantastic. In 1959, at just 15 years of age, Mabel Waller became the youngest Australian in history to be convicted of murder. Fast forward to 2025, and an elderly man is found dead on a quiet Melbourne lane. His neighbour, 81-year-old Elsie Fitzpatrick, discovers the body. And at first no one suspects foul play. Until they uncover Elsie's past. In the 1950s, her name wasn't Elsie, it was Mabel. Mad Mabel. The question becomes, is she mad? Is she guilty? Or has the truth been twisted for decades? When the police reopen the case and the media descend, Mabel decides at 81 that it's finally time to set the record straight. In a world first, Mabel Waller is speaking.

Speaker 1 9:31

Yes, and I have read this book, Leigh, and it is a cracker. So I can absolutely see why it won the People's Choice Award. It's doing massive runs on the book club circuit at the moment, including mine. It's our September book, and we're going to be discussing it in a couple of weeks, so I'll have to report back on the verdict. And as I've said before, Book Club is always at its best when people don't agree. So that's when I reckon the conversation gets really interesting. So I'm super curious to see what everyone else makes of it. So a big congratulations to all the winners in this year's Davitt Awards. Now we're going to put the links to all these wonderful books by these fabulous Australian women crime writers in the show notes so you can get reading.

Speaker 10:12

What a fantastic and thoroughly deserving list of winners. I can't wait to read the ones that I haven't read yet.

Speaker 1 10:19

Yeah, and the Ned Kelly Awards are just around the corner too, so we've got more exciting times ahead.

Speaker 10:25

Absolutely. But for now, we're putting the bookmark back in the book until next time. See you soon.