There was this, which I knew was coming but was a thrill to see all the same. It’s the Davitt Award I blogged about last week. It is on the large side and I have no idea where to put it, but perhaps I can clear a space for it on the Bookshelf of Narcissism. I’m sure the duck won’t mind shoving over a little.

Then there was this, which I had no idea was coming, and was therefore a different kind of thrill. It’s a letter from Simon Crean, congratulating me on Surface Tension having been judged a ‘highly commended work’ in the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. What a lovely note to receive out of the clear blue sky. I had no idea such a category even existed.

In excellent news, this letter is quite small and foldable, making it relatively easy to slip in between volumes on the Bookshelf of Narcissism. The duck is bound to be pleased.

Back in July, I was surprised to find my novel Surface Tension on the longlist for the Children’s/Young Adult Fiction category of the Davitt Awards, which are presented annually for crimewriting by Australian women.

The reason I was surprised is simply that across the many, many drafts I did of that book, I never once realised that what I was writing would fit into that genre. I was really just exploring an image, and shaping the sort of narrative that seemed to flow naturally from that process. When the longlist came out, I said, Huh? Really? Cool. And then I called my mother, because she is possibly Australia’s most avid reader of crime fiction, and I knew she’d get a kick out of it.
It was a long longlist, full of great books, and I never imagined I’d get any further. Then in August, the shortlist was announced, and it was somewhat shorter. Three books. And mine was one of them.

I had to call my mother again.

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