The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2018 shortlists for the Ned Kelly Awards for the best in Australian crime writing.

Here are the shortlists in each category:

Best Fiction

• Marlborough Man by Alan Carter
• Under the Cold Bright Lights by Garry Disher
• Redemption Point by Candice Fox
• Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill
• The Lone Child by Anna George
• The Student by Iain Ryan

Best first fiction

• The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey
• Wimmera by Mark Brandi
• The Girl in Keller’s Way by Megan Goldin
• See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

Best true crime

• The Contractor by Mark Abernethy
• Unmaking A Murder by Graham Archer
• The Suitcase Baby by Tanya Bretherton
• The Fatalist by Campbell McConachie
• Whitely on Trial by Gabriella Coslovich

The winners of the Ned Kelly Awards will be announced at the 2018 Melbourne Writers Festival on 26 August. The ceremony will feature a number of special guest storytellers from the true crime and fictional world and recognition of a crime writing great with a Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award. Find out more here.