“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

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

When Sarah won the Scarlet Stiletto Award for the Best Young Writer in 2011, she was in Year 7 at Caulfield Grammar School. Though she had been passionate about writing since she was young, winning the award boosted her confidence and inspired her to pursue a career in the literary industry. Sarah has since hosted author events, run a successful YA book club, interned for the Melbourne Writers Festival, Writers Victoria, Hardie Grant Egmont and Penguin, and worked as a bookseller. Her story "A Little Overboard" was included in the anthology "This Fresh Hell", published by Clandestine Press last year. Sarah is currently working on a YA sci-fi novel set in Melbourne.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

THIS STORY CONTAINS DETAILS OF CRUELTY TO A CHILD AND MAY BE TRIGGERING. Marguerite Johnson is Honorary Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Queensland. She began creative writing, literary essays, and public opinion pieces in 2010, following a break from academia as a result of cancer. She continues to combine research with other writing practices. She is a contributor to The Conversation and a regular guest on radio and podcasts. In 2017 she was named the Australian Book Review inaugural Gender Fellow winner for her essay on Picnic at Hanging Rock. Some of her creative writing, inspired by Greek mythology, appear in the journal, Arion. She currently lives on the Greek island of Lesvos.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime AustraliaIF THIS STORY HAS RAISED ANY ISSUES FOR YOU AS A LISTENER - YOU MAY WISH TO CONTACT LIFELINE on 13 11 14.

Since completing this short story, Mel Salomon completed her PhD, and moved to the United States where she now works as a medical writer. She has 2 children, a great husband and a newfound passion for long distance running. In her spare time she still enjoys writing poetry. CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Vicky Daddo lives in Hazelwood South, Victoria and is President of the Gippsland Writers Network and a Regional Ambassador for Writers Victoria. Her stories have appeared in The Big Issue, Award Winning Australian Writing and other anthologies. She has placed in competitions including the Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction, the Hope Prize, the Scarlet Stilettos and the FAW National Literary Awards.Her unpublished novels have been selected for QWC/Hachette Manuscript Development, and long-listed for Adaptable and MsLexia Novel Competition. She is currently doing the Faber Academy Writing a Novel program.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Apart from writing humorous family poetry, Anne had little writing experience. She won awards for two short stories at U3A and joined a creative writing group with Fin Ross who suggested her students enter a Scarlet Stiletto short story competition. She was fortunate to win two categories with her story Out of the Dark in 2011. One of these prizes was a mentorship at Olvar Wood Writers Retreat and these inspired her to write two young adult stories and an illustrated children’s book. Recently Anne has been dealing with sickness in her family and writing has been put on the back burner for a while. She hopes to return to it soon.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Sarah Evans is a seasoned writer of crime and her stories are usually inspired by true events. “The Bodyguard” and “Cold Comfort” are no exception. The idea for “The Bodyguard” materialized after Sarah read a magazine piece on a forensic scientist and “Cold Comfort” was based on a curmudgeonly farmer from the back blocks of WA. The Scarlet Stiletto Award has been an integral part of Sarah’s writing journey and her stories and novels have been published in Australia and overseas. Last year her Eve Rock crime series was optioned for TV.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Aoife Clifford is the author of the best-selling literary crime novels, Second Sight, highly commended in the Davitt Awards, All These Perfect Strangers, longlisted for both the ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and the Voss Literary Prize; and When We Fall which was shortlisted for best crime novel in both the Ned Kelly Awards and the Davitt Awards. She has been shortlisted for the UK Crime Association’s Debut Dagger and has won the Scarlet Stiletto and the S.D. Harvey Award among other prizes. Her latest novel is It Takes a Town.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Vikki Petraitis has written 18 books, including her best-selling book The Frankston Murders about serial killer Paul Denyer. In 2023, she released a podcast of the same name which topped charts around the world and helped change the law to keep Denyer in prison. Vikki’s first fiction, The Unbelieved, won the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime Fiction Prize and the Readers’ Choice Davitt Award. The sequel is on the way. Vikki’s Casefile Presents podcasts have been downloaded millions of times. Her next podcast is called The Unthinkable and is due for release in 2024.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia

Margaret Bevege’s PhD thesis was published as Behind Barbed Wire by UQP in 1993. She had articles in Women, Class and History and Worth Her Salt, which she co-edited. Turning to fiction. she won the 2001 Malice Domestic prize, reprinted in Scarlet Stiletto- The First Cut in 2007. Two other stories were printed in the NSW Queen of Crime Anthologies and from one of these she developed the main character of the three-volume Detective Ludowski’s Casebook (2001-03) which enjoyed modest.CreditsConcept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna LobezCo-producer: Carmel ShuteProductionManager: Tim CoyGraphic Designer: Caz BrownCopyright Sisters in Crime Australia