Nick Gadd wins Ned Kelly Award

We wanted to wish Nick Gadd who appeared at this years 2009 Aireys Festival of Words our warmest congratulations on winning the 2009 Ned Kelly Award, Best First Fiction. Nick discussed his award winning novel Ghostlines, which is a personal favorite of mine at the Festival.

The judges said when he orginally won the 2007 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript…

Ghostlines ‘packs a very strong narrative punch as it tells the story of a one-time respected investigative journalist who has stepped on the wrong toes … Strong dialogue, a tight structure, and an exceptional narrative voice take the reader on a journey to a provocative conclusion.’ Judges, Victorian Premier’s Literary Award

About Ghostlines:

Philip Trudeau, a once-respected investigative journalist, has stepped on the wrong toes. With his personal life and health deteriorating around him, he is consigned to a suburban newspaper where he writes ‘filler’ local news articles to be slotted in among the real-estate and restaurant advertisements. Sent to cover what appears to be a tragic-yet-routine death at a level crossing, Philip is drawn into a multilayered mystery that involves art theft, political intrigue and business corruption … not to mention murder.

Ghostlines is a cleverly plotted and compelling story of betrayal that is part thriller and part psychological realism. Source: Scribe Publications