Sulari Gentill’s ‘A Murder Unmentioned’ shortlisted for Davitt Awards 2015

Sulari Gentill is one of six female authors vying for the Sisters In Crime’s coveted “Best Adult Novel” at the 15th annual DAVITT Awards.

For this year’s award, Sulari’s A Murder Unmentioned is shortlisted alongside an impressive line up of Australian Crime Fiction authors – Honey Brown (Through the Cracks), Ilsa Evans (Forbidden Fruit: A Nell Forrest Mystery ebook), Annie Hauxwell (A Morbid Habit), Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies) and Malla Nunn (Present Darkness).

A Murder Unmentioned, the sixth book in the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, is a strong contender for this year’s award. Published by Pantera Press in November last year, it was listed as one of the Herald Sun’s top 20 books for 2014 (and was its top crime recommendation), included in Angela Savage’s “Thrilling summer: Best crime reads of 2014” as broadcast on Radio National, and was one of the titles that contributed to Sulari Gentill’s best-selling status at last year’s Crime and Justice Festival.

A Murder Unmentioned can also lay claim to being the only fiction title shortlisted for the Australian Publishers Associations’ Small Publishers’ Best Adult Book for 2015.  It is currently also nominated in the Prime Minster’s Literary Awards, the Queensland Literary Awards and the Ned Kelly Awards.

Davitt judges’ wrangler, Jacqui Horwood, said that women’s crime writing had surged in both quality and quantity.

“Many of the shortlisted authors are multi-award winners. For instance, Malla Nunn, a previous Davitt adult novel winner, has scored two nominations in the Edgar Award, the top US crime writing competition, plus a RUSA Award for Best Mystery Novel. This year, Present Darkness, her fourth novel set in 1950s’ apartheid South Africa, is in contention. She’s fighting it out with two previous Davitt winners, Honey Brown and Sulari Gentill, plus New York Times No. 1 best seller, Liane Moriarty, and 2014 shortlisted author, Ilsa Evans.” Horwood said.

What’s also remarkable, Horwood said, was the amazing diversity in theme, location, period and mode of investigation. She also notes that the Davitts have played a pioneering role in achieving better recognition for women’s crime writing. “The Davitts have persuaded Australian publishers to risk publishing crime books by Australian women, instead of just importing the latest blockbusters. It’s a gamble that has well and truly paid off,” she said.

Sulari is a familiar name at the Davitts – this is her third shortlisting in just four years. She took out the award in 2013 with her second book in the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries A Decline in Prophets.Malla Nunn and Honey Brown are also previous Davitt Award winners. Fellow Pantera Press author and Sister in Crime Melanie Casey was also longlisted this year for CRAVEN, her second novel in the Cass Lehman Crime Series.

A full list of shortlisted titles can be found on the Sisters in Crime website.