Shortlists for the 2026 Ned Kelly Awards have been released. Sponsored by the Australian Crime Writers Association, the awards honor works in the categories of best crime fiction, true crime, and international crime fiction, as well as debut crime fiction. Winners will be named in September.
The judging panel said this year's entries "offered a large range of sub-genre within the crime fiction category, including spy thrillers, noir, historical, outback crime as well as political and community corruption and social crime. It was a true reflection on the broad range of crime writing throughout Australia and internationally."