Scarlet Stiletto Bites

“Shifty Business” by the late Liz Cameron took out 3rd Prize in the 2002 Scarlet Stiletto Awards and was selected for inclusion in Scarlet Stiletto: The First Cut, a selection of stories from the first thirteen years of the competition, published in 2007 by Mira and launched by Sigrid Thornton.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

“Still Life” won Dianne Gray the second prize in the 2000 Scarlet Stiletto Awards. She has taken out several category awards. She has since published four novels and a book of award-winning short stories. She has won numerous national and international writing awards and loves nothing better than a good old-fashioned murder mystery. She lives in peaceful bliss on a sugar cane farm in regional Queensland where she tests out new stories on baby goats, kookaburras, old dogs, and chickens. When she's not writing or endlessly procrastinating, she can be found renovating her 140-year-old farmhouse.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Lesley Truffle won 3rd prize in the Scarlet Stiletto Awards in 2010 for “A Man of Fashion”. She was then an aspiring novelist, then walking the beach at 3am plotting a story about women behaving badly. Two of her novels, Hotel du Barry and The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte, have been published by Harper Collins in Australia and also in Spain, Italy and Germany. Lesley was born in London but came out to Australia when young. She has worked as a teacher, photographer, hotel maid, fringe actor and in art galleries, nightclubs and minimal wage jobs too ghastly to mention. She is currently living on an island and working on a new manuscript.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

At the time of winning the Scarlet Stiletto Young Writers’ Award in 2007, Jane Blechynden was a ten-year-old schoolgirl whose biggest concern was whether she should experiment with a side fringe. The Sisters in Crime award inspired Jane to continue writing, and she went on to win the Tim Winton award in 2009. Although Jane is still an avid reader, her literary career is now focused on writing exemplary patient notes in her role as a doctor.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Aoife Clifford’s story, “Quit”, took out the award for funniest short story in the 2012 Scarlet Stiletto Awards and was runner up in the Body in the Library Award. When Aoife won the Scarlet Stiletto in 2007, she was at home with two small children, suffering terrible morning sickness with what was to be her third. Now her eldest has left home and her fourth crime novel came out in 2024.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

“Fish for Freedom” won the Malice Domestic prize in the 2012 Scarlet Stiletto Awards for WA author Sarah Evans. She has since had many short stories and novels published both in Australia and overseas. Last year her crime series was optioned for TV.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Much Ado About Nunning” by Western Australian author, Helen Iles, won the prize for Best Film Idea in 2012. Helen writes crime fiction, adult fiction, young adult fiction, textbooks, poetry, and children’s picture books.Helen has been published locally and internationally. Her novel, Dark Secrets was long-listed for the Davitt Award 2019. She has won the Bronze Quill three times, the National Horror Writers Award, the Best Film Script Idea in the Scarlet Stiletto competition, and numerous other national awards. Helen is also an Editor, teaches Creative Writing, manages Linellen Press, a small publishing house south of Perth, and is a children’s book illustrator. CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

“Brought to Book” won Kath Harper the Body in the Library First Prize in 2012. Kath grew up in a family of word nerds, and worked as a nanny/housemaid, fruit packer, customer service officer and school teacher before finding her niche as an editor, indexer and proofreader. She has won or been highly commended in a number of story-writing competitions, including the Body in the Library and Malice Domestic categories of the Scarlet Stiletto Awards. The isolation of freelance work drew her to community theatre; she has written and/or performed in several plays. Now retired, she continues to write short stories, and during COVID lockdowns entertained her grandsons with a fantasy adventure serial.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

In a world where the neutralisation of emotions is compulsory, an enforcement officer risks everything when she starts to succumb to her feelings.2nd Prize Scarlet Stiletto Award and Cross Genre AwardCreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Best Investigative story, 2013Sandi Wallace dreamed of being a crime writer from around the age of six. Her first big win for a crime story was for “Silk Versus Sierra” in 2013, and on the Awards night, she landed a publisher for her debut crime novel… the beginning of her dream come true.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Claire McKenna won 3rd prize in the 2012 Scarlet Stiletto Awards in “The Autumn Dog Cannot Live to Spring”. Hailing from the remote outer suburban wilderness of Melbourne, Claire is a short story writer, novelist, adventurer and urban explorer up to no good. She is currently writing a follow-up fantasy series that aims to be more confusing and confronting than her last. Send your feedback to admin@sistersincrime.org.au More info here: https://www.clairemckenna.net/CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Robyn McWilliam had been writing crime short stories for years, placing in Queen of Crime Awards and being published in anthologies. Winning a Scarlet Stiletto Award in 2012 for “Nursing a Suspicion” for Best Investigative Story was the pinnacle of her success in stories. She went on to publish a crime novel, Malevolent Desire, on Amazon in 2015.Send your feedback to admin@sistersincrime.org.auCreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Candice Graham won the Best Environmental Story in the 2012 Scarlet Stiletto Awards with “Fallen Angel”. Back then, she was studying her Masters in Clinical Neuropsychology. The following year she took out First Prize, Since then, Candice has spent many rewarding years working as a psychologist, primarily with children and young adults. Sadly, Candice has stepped back from her work as a psychologist due to severe pain from endometriosis. She believes the time feels right, however, to start writing the multitude of novels brimming in her mind… Send your feedback to admin@sistersincrime.org.au.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Nikki Lee Taylor won the 31st Scarlet Stiletto Award for “Lilly Pilly, Don't Be Silly.” She is a former journalist, whose work around PTSD was recognised by the Journalism Media & Storytelling Awards panel. She is currently on a hiatus from work to pursue her goal of becoming a full-time author. Her novels include two set in Philadelphia, The Secrets We Keep and The Truth We Tell. She describes her latest, The Alibi set in Newcastle, as “a murderous love letter to my home town.” When Nikki is not writing, she is an avid photographer and competes in various disciplines of canine sports with her cocker spaniel Saxon.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProduction Manager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Liz Filleul won the Scarlet Stiletto Award in 2004 and in 2011 she came close to doing it again, with her story “Crime Traveller”, taking out both second prize and the Cross-Genre Award.Liz hoped her Scarlet Stiletto success would be a springboard to a career as a novelist. And it did actually lead to having a detective novel, set in the world of vintage children’s fiction collectors,published by a niche publisher in the UK.For over a decade, Liz worked on various novels, periodically taking time out to write short stories. She continued her success in the Scarlet Stiletto Awards, as runner up in 2007 and 2016, ad well as 2011, and the Mystery with History Prize in 2016. Eventually, it dawned on her that maybe her forte was writing short crime stories, Liz put one of her YA novels on submission and decided to focus on short stories for a while.It was the best writing decision she has ever made! In the past few years , she has had 40 short stories and three serials published in UK magazine, The People’s Friend, and she has also been published in the USA magazine Woman’s World. One of her crime stories in that American magazine, “Dead Men Tell No Tales”, set in 1830’s Van Diemen’s Land and featuring a convict constable, was a finalist ion the 2023 Derringer Awards, run by the Short Mystery Fiction Society in the USACreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Author of Death in the Skies, 2020 winner of Scarlet Stiletto Award & Mystery with History Award..Jessica has always been able to put a string of words together. Throughout school, she won quite a few small writing competitions and she always knew that regardless of what else she did, she wanted writing to be a part of her future in some way, shape or form.She moved to the UK in search of adventure and travelled the world for several years before Covid clipped her wings. But being back in Australia gave Jessica the chance to have her first flying lesson, which led to “Death in the Skies”, the Scarlet Stiletto winning entry.Had anybody told Jessica that she would write a crimes story, let alone win a crime-writing competition, she would have laughed in their faces. But being stuck at home in a world of lockdown will do strange things to a person. The Scarlet Stiletto win has given her the confidence to pursue a career in writing. Since the win, she has expanded this short story into a full length novel and is in the final editing stages.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Cock-a-Hoop was inspired by a true story told to sarah Evans at a rural community event celebrating women where she was a speaker. At the time she was home schooling my children and attempting to live a sustainable lifestyle. Between teaching, growing and harvesting produce, she was also writing short stories for competitions and novels for publication. Winning the prize for the Scarlet Stiletto funniest crime story in 2011 was a welcome and much needed enthusiasm boost. She has since had many short stories and novels published both in Australia and overseas. Last year her crime series was optioned for TV. More info here:https://sarah-evans-author.com/CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Fiona Drury is a corporate writer and editor and an international exhibition agent for major museums. She is originally from the UK and has lived in Melbourne for over 34 years.An avid reader and writer of crime fiction, Fiona is a long-time member of Sisters in Crime. CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

2011, the year Kim won the Scarlet Stiletto Judges’ Prize was the year her second novel, The Courier’s New Bicycle, was published. Being a creature of many colours, the novel was shortlisted for two crime fiction awards (Ned Kelly, Davitt) as well as making the Tiptree Honor Book list and winning two speculative fiction awards (Aurealis, Ditmar). Until that year, she really didn’t know if she could pull together a crime-themed short story or novel. The Stilettos gave her a shot in the arm, she says. she still has the commemorative bottle of wine, vintage 2010, called ‘The Killer’CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Mary Evans wrote Stage Fright while she was being homeschooled by her mother, crime writer Sarah Evans, who encouraged Mary to write and submit her works into competitions from an early age. Winning Scarlet Stiletto was a great boost to her confidence and encouraged her to continue scribbling. Mary wrote short stories, poetry and, eventually, songs. She’s now a singer-songwriter and performs her whimsical songs and murder ballads under her professional stage name Mary MyfanwyCreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia