Tuesday, 9 September 2025 Books+Publishing @booksandpublishing
Sisters in Crime has announced the winners of the 2025 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women.
The winning titles in each category, chosen from shortlists announced in July, are:
Adult novel
Nonfiction book
The Lasting Harm: Witnessing the Trial of Ghislaine Maxwell (Lucia Osborne-Crowley, A&U)
Young adult novel
Into the Mouth of the Wolf (Erin Gough, HGCP)
Children’s novel
The Midwatch (Judith Rossell, HGCP)
Best debut book
What I Would Do to You (Georgia Harper, Vintage)
Kerry Greenwood Readers’ Choice
A highly commended certificate was also awarded to Fiona McFarlane for Highway 13 (A&U).
Judges coordinator Ruth Wykes said, ‘The Davitt Awards have transformed the literary landscape over the past three decades. Twenty-five years ago, when the Davitts were launched at SheKilda, Sisters in Crime’s 10th anniversary convention, seven books were in contention. This year, there were 150.
‘It’s not just the quantity, but the quality – the complex layers of the characters, the realism of the settings, and above all else, the magic of beautifully told stories. The themes are contemporary – environmental destruction, the nature of justice, queer romance, girl power, and, of course, sexual exploitation and violence against women. Now more than ever, we need a strong, vibrant writing community of Australian women storytellers, and we need them to be fearless.’
The winners were announced at an event on 5 September in Melbourne.
Last year’s winners included When One of Us Hurts (Monica Vuu, Macmillan), The Schoolgirl, Her Teacher and His Wife (Rebecca Hazel, Vintage), Eleanor Jones Is Not a Murderer (Amy Doak, Penguin), The Wolves of Greycoat Hall (Lucinda Gifford, Walker Books), The Half Brother (Christine Keighery, Ultimo) and The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies (Alison Goodman, HarperCollins).
Pictured [left–right]: Dervla McTiernan, Vikki Wakefield, Judith Rossell, Erin Gough, Georgia Harper.
Category: Awards Local news