Katherine Howell wins Davitt Award for FRANTIC

The Davitt Awards, presented in Melbourne on Friday 10th October 2008, are presented annually by Sisters in Crime Australia for the best crime novel by an Australian woman published in the previous year. This year there were 41 nominees in three categories, adult, young adult and true crime, as well as a readers' choice award.

The winners:

• Katherine Howell's FRANTIC won the best crime novel by an Australian woman writer in 2007. This novel was also shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award. My review of Katherine's latest: THE DARKEST HOUR. Sally's review of FRANTIC is here.
  
• Mandy Sayer won the young adult prize for THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES.
• Best True Crime went to KILLING JODIE by Janette Fife-Yeomans
• The readers choice award, voted on by Sisters Members when to Lindy Cameron for her editing of SCARLET STILETTO: THE FIRST CUT, which is a collection of stories that have won prizes in the Scarlet Stiletto awards - the Sisters own crime award designed to encourage and assist up and coming writers in particular.
  

This year's nominees for best crime novel were:

* Sydney Bauer, Gospel (Pan Macmillan)
* Joyce Berendes, The Fourteenth Day (Zeus)
* Robin Bowles, The Curse of the Golden Yo-Yo (The Five Mile Press)
* Lindy Cameron, Redback (Mira)
* Lindy Cameron, ed., Scarlet Stiletto – The First Cut (Mira)
* Lauren Crow, Bye Bye Baby (HarperCollins)
* Kathryn Fox, Skin and Bone (Pan Macmillan)
* Liz Filleul, To All Appearance Dead (Bettany Books)
* Leah Giarrantano, Vodka Doesn’t Freeze (Random House)
* Jane Goodall, The Calling (Hachette Livre)
* Alison Goodman, Killing the Rabbit (Random House/Bantam)
* Kerry Greenwood, Trick or Treats (Allen & Unwin)
* Kerry Greenwood, A Question of Death (Allen & Unwin)
* Sheridan Hay, The Secret of Lost Things (HarperCollins/4th Estate)
* Katherine Howell, Frantic (Pan Macmillan)
* Janette Turner Hospital, Orpheus Lost (HarperCollins/4th Estate)
* Dorothy Johnston, Eden (Wakefield Press)
* Wendy Laing, Cock of the Walk (Writers Exchange E-publishing)
* Wendy Laing, Severance Packages (Writers Exchange E-publishing)
* Gabrielle Lord, Shattered (Hachette Livre)
* Pat Noad, Rockhound (Zeus)
* Susan Parisi, Blood of Dreams (Penquin/Viking)
* Dorothy Porter, El Dorado (Pan Macmillan/Picador)
* Leigh Redhead, Cherry Pie (Allen & Unwin)
* Mandy Sayers, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes (HarperCollins)
* Felicity Young, An Easeful Death (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)