Using Awards Lists as a RA Tool: Ned Kelly Awards for Australian Crime Fiction

This is part of my ongoing series on "Using Awards Lists as a RA Tool." Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.

Crime fiction is the number one or two circulating genre of fiction at every public library in American, no matter its size. As a result, we need access to as many resources as possible in order to help our patrons.

This week the Australian Crime Writers Association announced the winners of the 2021 Ned Kelly Awards here. From their site:

The Ned Kelly Awards are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious recognition honouring published crime fiction and true crime writing. The categories are Best Crime Fiction, Best Debut Crime Fiction, Best True Crime and Best International Crime Fiction. Entries are accepted for books published in the 12 months prior to 1 March each year.

Since Australia is an English language speaking country, that means there is a very good chance the books are easily available in America too. 

Crime Fiction set anywhere is popular and if we have access to a less mainstream but still critically acclaimed list of titles, well that is a treasure trove of information for every single one of us and our readers.

Remember [use links in the intro to this post if you don't], it is not only the winners we use as a resource. It is the full list of all nominees for this year, and even going back 5 years, that you can count on as solid suggestions.

Bonus: if you have access to NoveList they also load and tag the Ned Kelly winners since Australian libraries also use the database. That means you can expect links to any reviews or articles for these titles to be available on their site too. All of which gives you more points of access to use this information to help a reader.

Finally, since I have your attention, don't forget about  CrimeReads which is the very best resource for all of your Crime Fiction needs. They cover the genre with a broad lens and include True Crime. The combination of news, upcoming books lists, essays, and themed articles [like this great new one about the importance of setting on certain crime novels], make it a favorite resource for both informing myself and suggesting books to actual readers.