In 1999, John Dale, then CWAA president wrote that "The CWAA has been going for three or four years now. There are a 100 members or so, but as yet no website. The Australian crime scene is booming at the moment. Apart from Corris there is a writer called Marele Day who has had international success. Other crime writers include Paul Thomas, Peter Doyle, Gabrielle Lord, Jon Cleary, Peter Corris and, of course, myself. Most of us have been published. For 1999's Ned Kelly Awards for Best Australian Crime Novel - there were 14 novels that were eligible. In 2000 there will be 22. Which is a lot of crime/detective novels from a country with a population of 18 million."

The CWAA also bestows the Ned Kelly Awards, named for a notorious Australian outlaw of the 19th century, and affectionately called the "Neddies".

For further details contact:

Official Site of the Crime Writers Association of Australia
Includes the Ned Kelly News, author links and everything else you need to start tracking down the best in Down Under crime fiction.

John Dale,
Crime Writers Association of Australia
Fax: (02) 95194447
E-mail: johndale@zeta.org.au

Note: Winners are in Red, Bold Face.

This list is woefully incomplete, so please advise me of any mistakes or omissions. Don't be shy, let me know!

1996 NED KELLY AWARDS

BEST AUSTRALIAN CRIME NOVEL

• The Malcontenta by Barry Maitland
• Inside Dope by Paul Thomas

BEST FIRST AUSTRALIAN CRIME NOVEL

• Dark Angel by John Dale

LIFELONG CONTRIBUTION TO THE CRIME, MYSTERY and DETECTIVE GENRES

• Jon Cleary

1997 NED KELLY AWARDS

BEST AUSTRALIAN CRIME NOVEL

• Brush Off by Shane Maloney

BEST FIRST AUSTRALIAN CRIME NOVEL (tie)

• Bad Debts by Peter Temple
• Get Rich Quick by Peter Doyle

BEST NON-FICTION

• How To Write Crime edited by Marele Day

LIFELONG CONTRIBUTION

• Peter Yates (aka Carter Brown)
  Creator of Mavis Seidlitz, Rick Holman, Danny Boyd, Al wheeler, et al....

1998 NED KELLY AWARDS

1999 NED KELLY AWARDS

Grace Bros City Books, in conjunction with UTS Writing Program and the CrimeWriters Association of Australia, presented the 1999 Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Fiction in Sydney.

BEST AUSTRALIAN CRIME NOVEL

• Amaze Your Friends by Peter Doyle
• Cheaters by J.R Carroll
• The Black Prince by Peter Corris (Cliff Hardy)
• The Dogs Are Barking by John Dale
• The Sharp End by Gabrielle Lord

BEST FIRST CRIME NOVEL

• The Last Days by Andrew Masterson

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

• Peter Corris, creator of primo Australian eye Cliff Hardy, nabs a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian Crime Writers Association. See who else won.

2000 NED KELLY AWARDS

The awards were presented this year on Thursday August 31, at the Night Cat Bar, 141 Johnston Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne. Linking the ceremony to the Melbourne Writers' Festival proved to be a real success, raising the overall profile of the event and hopefully crime writing in general.

A new category, True Crime writing (Non-Fiction), was added.

BEST AUSTRALIAN CRIME NOVEL

• Shooting Star by Peter Temple
• Dilemma by Jon Cleary
• Other Side of Sorrow by Peter Corris
• Dragon Man by Garry Disher
• Death Before Wicket by Kerry Greenwood
• Our Man by Nicholas Hasluck
• Inquisitor by Catherine Jinks
• Chalon Heads by Barry Maitland
• Silvermeadow by Barry Maitland
• Set Up by Clare McNab
• An Uncertain Death by Carolyn Morwood
• Black Tide by Peter Temple
• Final Cut by Paul Thomas
• Exxxpresso by Dave Warner
• Murder in the Frame by Dave Warner

BEST FIRST CRIME NOVEL

• The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders by Marshall Browne
• Unholy Writ by Carmel Bird
• Dry Dock by Cathy Cole
• The Trojan Dog by Dorothy Johnston
• Angels in Architecture by Mary Rose MacColl
• Fetish by Tara Moss
• Cop This by Chris Nyst
• Cat Catcher by Caroline Shaw

BEST NON FICTION

• Huckstepp: A Dangerous Life by John Dale (tie)
• Underbelly 3 by Silvester & Rule (tie)
• Justice Denied by Robin Bowles
• Heart and Soul by Barry Dickins
• Shark Net by Robert Drewe
• Arrested Development by Paul Little

2003 NED KELLY AWARDS

The Crime Writers' Association of Australia (CWAA) announced the winners of its 2003 Ned Kelly Awards on August 28, 2003..

BEST NOVEL

• White Dog by Peter Temple (Jack Irish)
• The Affair by Bunty Avieson
• Open For Inspection by Carmel Bird
• The Eye Of The Abyss by Marshall Browne
• Salt And Blood by Peter Corris (Cliff Hardy)
• Deadly Tide by Sandy Curtis
• Who Killed Bianca by Emma Darcy
• Kittyhawk Dawn by Garry Disher
• Murder In Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood
• The Analyst by Fred Guilhaus
• Breakfastinfur by Michael Herrmann
• Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing by Gabrielle Lord
• Babel by Barry Maitland
• Something Fishy by Shane Maloney
• The Chance by Andy Shea
• The Empty Bed by Paul Thomas
• Evidence by Emma Tom

BEST FIRST NOVEL

• Blood Redemption by Alex Palmer
• Lady Luck by Kirsty Brooks
• Half Past Dead by Jane Clifton
• The Games by Peter Devries
• The Final Account by Greg Wilson

BEST TRUE CRIME

• Bloodstain by Peter Lalor
• What Happened To Freeda Hayes? by Robin Bowles
• Just Another Little Murder by Phil Cleary
• Beyond Bad by Sandra Lee
• Blood Brothers by Bertil Lintner
• The Mickelberg Stitch by Avon Lovell
• Reasons Of State by Kevin Ruane
• Tough by Andrew Rule And John Silveste
• Underbelly 6 by Andrew Rule and John Silvester
• The Brotherhoods by Arthur Veno

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

• Kerry Greenwood