2021 Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing
Judges' Reports & Bios
Fiction
Dinuka McKenzie
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It was a huge honour to be part of the judging panel for the 2021 Thunderbolt Crime Writing prize, and to consider this year’s fiction entries. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this year’s entries, which spanned a little bit of everything from detective and gangland noir, the ravages of institutional abuse, twisted domestic and rural misdeeds, to madcap, cosy capers, and crimes set in dystopian futures. The quality of the entries was almost universally high, making the task of narrowing down a shortlist both enjoyable and challenging to say the least.
Amongst the many impressive entries this year, ‘Reunion’ stood apart as the clear 2021 fiction winner. The story is a taut, brutal portrayal of vengeance full of palpable tension and menace, featuring a flawed protagonist unable to move on from his past; his unbending nature perfectly mirrored in the stark, isolated outback setting of the story. The ultimate violence is savage and somehow more confronting because it replicates the practices of routine animal husbandry. |
Highly Commended - Men's Shed
The entry ‘Men’s Shed’ by Scott Hoffman is highly commended for its dark humour and for perfectly capturing the voice of its elderly narrator as he brings about the downfall of his long-time friend and adversary. Two entries are commended: ‘The Dead Girl’ by Julianne Negri for its lyrical and evocative language and imagery, capturing the volatility and frisson of danger inherent in the interactions of young women with their male counterparts, both now and in the past; and ‘Not of the Sea’ by Barry Divola for its well-realised narrative of Sydney’s well-moneyed underbelly, complete with deft humour and a gruesome ending. |
Non-Fiction
Maryrose Cuskelly
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Each of the non-fiction submissions to this year’s Thunderbolt Prize took a very different approach, not only in form, but also as to what might be considered a crime
First Prize - The Kaarimba Horror
This entry’s creative non-fiction account of a past event lays bare not only an instance of infanticide, but also exposes an historical anomaly that allowed incest to go unpunished in Australia until the late nineteenth century. This highly imaginative account of officers of the law struggling to dispense justice, provides an intriguing window onto an earlier time and the junction/disjunction of the legal system and the Church in Australia. |
Highly Commended - Dattilo's Vendetta
This well researched article exposes the anguish and harm visited on innocent people who had the misfortunate to be targeted by a vengeful and amoral conman. It also exposes significant loopholes in the law that allowed these injustices to be perpetrated and argues convincingly for these loopholes to be eradicated. Commended - Crimes Against Humanity
This entry about the ongoing suffering and struggle of individuals targeted by the Iranian regime includes aspects of both reportage and a more in-depth approach to the subject. The crimes in this account are committed not by individuals but by a state that tortures and represses those who seek justice within it. The author has combined on-the-ground research with keen-eyed observation to give the reader not only an insight into the sufferings of individuals targeted by the Iranian regime but also pulls back to provide a broader focus on an international movement to call attention to these injustices and atrocities. |
Poetry
Yumna Kassab
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First Prize - The True Ballad of Hester Hosken
This is a captivating ballad and can easily be sung with its excellent rhythm and rhyme. This is a classical and memorable poem with vivid imagery and I immediately wanted to know more about the life of Hester Hosken. A classical poem. Such masterful storytelling and within the structured confines of a classical poem. |
Highly Commended - Neverland
Immediately upon reading this, I wondered if this poem was based on a historical person. It deftly explores the life of Ivy, confined to an asylum for reasons that will remain to us unknown. This is a striking piece and one laments the many lives that were ruined by indifference or limited knowledge of the mind at the time. It achieves the balance between history and story. Will Peter Pan lead one to peace in Neverland? Commended - Monologue of a Boss
Such spitefulness and anyone who has ever had a run-in with a boss will easily relate to this. One thinks of the poor teachers who look forward to a break of the holiday and there is the puppeteer meanly pulling at the puppet's strings. Such malice and vindictiveness, plotting an employee's ruin. |
Youth
Phoebe McArthur
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First Prize - The Ghost Train
An interesting and impressively well researched and written piece. So very well done. |
Highly Commended - The Lockdown
A refreshing twist on the theme of crime writing and injustice. Commended - Wayne's Bread A quirky tale about why bread is thicker than either blood or water. |
Meet our 2021 Judges
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Dinuka McKenzie is an Australian writer and book addict. Her debut crime-fiction manuscript The Torrent won the 2020 Banjo Prize and will be published by HarperCollins Australia in February 2022. Her unpublished manuscript Taken was longlisted for the 2020 Richell Prize. She is represented by Alex Adsett Literary.
When not writing, Dinuka works in the environmental sector and volunteers as part of the team behind the Writers’ Unleashed Festival. She lives in Southern Sydney with her husband, two kids, and their pet chicken. You can find out more about Dinuka on her website dinukamckenzie.com |
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Maryrose Cuskelly is the author of Wedderburn: A true tale of blood and dust (Allen & Unwin 2018), a true-crime narrative set in rural Victoria; as well as two other books of social history. She is the author of Original Skin: Exploring the Marvels of the Human Hide (Scribe 2010) and The End of Charity: Time for Social Enterprise (Allen & Unwin 2008) co-written with Nic Frances, and winner of the Iremonger Award for Writing on Public Issues.
Maryrose was the winner of the 2016 Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing (non-fiction) for her essay 'Well Before Dark' about the abduction of Mackay schoolgirl Marilyn Wallman. She has twice been awarded fellowships at Varuna, the National Writers’ House, most recently in 2020 for The Campers, a novel in development. Find out more about Maryrose from her website maryrosecuskelly.com.au |
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Poet and fiction writer Yumna Kassab was born and raised in Western Sydney, except for two formative years when she lived in Lebanon with her family.
She went on to study medical science at Macquarie University and neuroscience at Sydney University, and currently teaches in New England. In 2019 she won the New England Award in the Thunderbolt Prize, for her poem 25 May 1870. Her collection of short stories, The House of Youssef, was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Prize, NSW Premier's Prize, Queensland Literary Prize, and the Stella Prize. Read our interview with Yumna here. |
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Phoebe McArthur is the nom-de-plume of mother-daughter writing team Fiona McDonald and Beattie Alvarez (Fi+Bea = Phoebe, get it?). Officially, Phoebe McArthur lives in a run-down, yet cosy cottage in the middle of nowhere. If she’s not tipping cats off her lap as she writes stories, she’s cooking all sorts of yummy food, such as scones with extra cream and homemade blackberry jam, or doing art at the table near the window, which has the best view of her garden.
In reality Fiona and Beattie run a toy shop in Armidale (Granny Fi's Toy Cupboard) and when they're not writing they are sewing toys, but still eating all the yummy food! |