2022 Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing
Judges' Reports & Bios
Fiction
Judge - Benjamin Stevenson
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Winner - Dear Sir...
by David Grey An impeccably clever structure tells the narrative through a single corporate letter. Part satire, part corporate horror, the prose is drum-tight, and by turns witty, cutting and acerbic. This story made me gasp and laugh in equal measure, and despite it's high satire, shows us a future that's a little too close for comfort. |
Highly Commended - The Turning Tide
by Bob Topping Excellent writing creates a vivid and brooding atmosphere in THE TURNING TIDE. An impressive ability to build depth into characters in such a short length grounds the story's reality, and make the punchy ending even more memorable. |
Commended - Red Flags
Winner of the Emerging Author Award
RED FLAGS benefits from tight writing, compelling historical detail and a clever structure. The mystery at the story's core is slowly revealed with a well handled denouement.
Winner of the Emerging Author Award
RED FLAGS benefits from tight writing, compelling historical detail and a clever structure. The mystery at the story's core is slowly revealed with a well handled denouement.
Non-Fiction
Judge - Dan Box
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Winner - Justice
by David Vernon Stark, bleak and compulsive, this was uncomfortable reading about what is an awful crime. The research was excellent and the characters sharply drawn. This piece stayed with me long after I put it down. |
Highly Commended - "Lunch with Andrew Kaljzich" by Pippa Kay
Gently campaigning reporting. The depth of research was apparent, as well as the depth of the author's compassion. Given the talent on display here, I would have liked to see the writer do even more with the facts at their disposal, both in terms of access to Andrew and to the evidence in his case. |
Commended - "The Jungle Beast" by Robin Hammond
A well-drawn portrait of a man the tabloids depicted only as an animal, and also of the author's fascination with their subject. The ending, particularly, captures the contradictory nature of someone who can be both a 'much-loved family member' and a 'ruthless, violent criminal.'
A well-drawn portrait of a man the tabloids depicted only as an animal, and also of the author's fascination with their subject. The ending, particularly, captures the contradictory nature of someone who can be both a 'much-loved family member' and a 'ruthless, violent criminal.'
Poetry
Judge - Kit Kelen
Although the connections with crime were often elusive among this year's entries, both the Winner and Highly Commended are to be congratulated for approaching the theme from successful tangents, for adept handling of poetic form and for surprising us wisely with words and ideas and emotions one could not have predicted from the outset of their poems. These entries deal interestingly, but very differently, with important issues related to gender and with viewpoints and experience that might remain hidden were it not for the poem's bringing these to life.
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Winner - A Cautionary Tale
by Paris Rosemont The villanelle is a notoriously difficult form from the point of view of delivering narrative progression, but 'A Cautionary Tale' manages to mirror that difficulty in the subjective dilemma of the persona. A brave effort. |
Highly Commended - Guillotine Act
by Jennifer Harris The protagonist of 'Guillotine Act' plays along, a little rebelliously, with a subaltern role in a misogynist entertainment. The poem has some skilful not-quite-timeless ambiance and some wonderful pickouts - for instance, 'cosmorama’s perfected violence'. This is, we can say, what the poem's about. |
Commended - "Six O'Clock" by Verity Laughton
Commended - "Missing the Ruby" by Richenda Rudman
Commended & Winner of the New England Award - "I Witness" by Jane O'Sullivan
Commended - "Missing the Ruby" by Richenda Rudman
Commended & Winner of the New England Award - "I Witness" by Jane O'Sullivan
Youth
Judge - Belinda Murrell
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Winner - Regret
By Kiki Chen (Fiction) This story was beautifully written with a powerful sense of setting and emotion. The writer takes the reader on an emotional journey, creating a strong bond of empathy with both the missing girl, and the parent left behind. I was left pondering the mystery and the parent's regret and guilt, long after I had read the story. |
Highly Commended - League of Criminals
by Ebony Hill I really enjoyed this heist story of a league of criminals. The writer did an excellent job of weaving together the elements of humour, action, tension, friendship and moral dilemmas. The characters were well drawn and the writer used lively dialogue to reveal character and motivation. An engaging and well polished story. |
Commended - Encounter
by Aaron Lee
This story explored an interesting and original concept, with a surprising twist. The writer created a strong sense of setting, with vivid imagery. Death was an intriguing character offering the protagonist a difficult moral dilemma.
by Aaron Lee
This story explored an interesting and original concept, with a surprising twist. The writer created a strong sense of setting, with vivid imagery. Death was an intriguing character offering the protagonist a difficult moral dilemma.
Meet our 2022 Judges
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Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and author. His first novel, Greenlight, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction, and his second novel, Either Side of Midnight, was shortlisted for the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Original Paperback.
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, his third novel, was a huge bestseller and has so far been sold in twenty-four territories around the world. It will soon be adapted into a major HBO TV series. Benjamin has sold out live shows from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival all the way to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has appeared on ABC TV, Channel 10 and The Comedy Channel. |
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Dan Box is a Walkley Award-winning reporter and the author of four true crime books, including most recently, Badness and I Catch Killers.
He has previously worked for The Australian, the BBC and London's The Sunday Times. He has won awards in both the UK and Australia, including for investigative reporting, feature writing and true crime writing. He was also the host of two podcast series, Bloodguilt and Bowraville, both of which deal with unsolved serial killings. Bowraville won the 2020 Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime. He is currently working on a fifth book. |
www.kitkelen.com/kitkelen.com
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Christopher (Kit) Kelen is a poet, painter and recovering academic, resident in the Myall Lakes of NSW.
Published widely since the seventies, he has a dozen full length collections in English as well as translated books of poetry in Chinese, Portuguese, French, Italian, Spanish, Indonesian, Swedish and Filipino. His next volume of poetry is Poor Man’s Coat – Hardanger Poems, to be published by UWAP in 2018. In 2017, Kit was shortlisted twice for the Montreal Poetry Prize and won the Local Award in the Newcastle Poetry Prize. Emeritus Professor at the University of Macau, where he taught for many years, in 2017, Kit Kelen was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Malmö, in Sweden. |
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Belinda Murrell is an award-winning, internationally published author who has written more than 35 books ranging from junior fiction to adult non-fiction. Belinda’s books include Meet Zoe and Zac, popular series The Sun Sword, Lulu Bell and Pippa’s Island, and historical novels The Ivory Rose, The Locket of Dreams, The Forgotten Pearl and The Lost Sapphire.
Her latest books include magical time-slip novels The Golden Tower and The Silver Sea filled with flying horses, talking cats, mischievous creatures, danger, and evil plots. Accolades include Honour Book KOALAS, shortlisted nine times for YABBA (Young Australians Best Book Award), CBCA Notable 2012 and 2017 and highly commended in the PM’s Literary Awards. |