The Midwatch wins Best Children’s Novel in the Davitt Awards

Judith Rossell has been awarded a Davitt Award for The Midwatch (Hardie Grant) in the Best Children’s Novel category. Congratulations to Jude and to all the other winners!

Judges coordinator Ruth Wykes said, ‘The Davitt Awards have transformed the literary landscape over the past three decades. Twenty-five years ago, when the Davitts were launched at SheKilda, Sisters in Crime’s 10th anniversary convention, seven books were in contention. This year, there were 150.

‘It’s not just the quantity, but the quality – the complex layers of the characters, the realism of the settings, and above all else, the magic of beautifully told stories. The themes are contemporary – environmental destruction, the nature of justice, queer romance, girl power, and, of course, sexual exploitation and violence against women. Now more than ever, we need a strong, vibrant writing community of Australian women storytellers, and we need them to be fearless.’