Scribe is pleased to congratulate Chris Womersley and Robert Gott for being shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Awards 2008. The short list is as follows.

Best First Fiction
* The Low Road – Chris Womersley (Scribe) * A Fraction of the Whole – Steve Toltz (Penguin) * Golden Serpent – Mark Abernethy (Allen & Unwin)

Best Fiction
* Amongst The Dead – Robert Gott (Scribe) * Sucked In – Shane Maloney (Text) * El Dorado – Dorothy Porter (Pan Macmillan) * Shatter – Michael Rowbotham (Hachette Livre)

Best Non Fiction
* Underbelly The Gangland War – John Silvester and Andrew Rule (Sly Ink) * Killing Jodie – Janet Fife-Yeomans (Penguin) * Red Centre, Dark Heart – Evan McHugh (Penguin)

The awards will be presented in conjunction with the Melbourne Writers Festival on the evening of Friday 29th August at Federation Square. The evening commences at 7.30 pm with a key note address by Rhys Muldoon. This will be followed by a debate addressing the topic ‘That crime in Australia skirts the big issues, its concern is entertainment.’ The panel consists of Joel Becker (Victorian Writers Centre), Jarad Henry, Leigh Redhead and Tara Moss.