Astrid Scholte’s ‘League of Liars’, nominated for an Aurealis Award in the Best Young Adult novel category!

In the ‘League of Liars’ four teenagers charged with the illegal use of magic get together to devise the ultimate jailbreak. Ever since his mother was killed in a freak edem-based crime, seventeen-year-old Cayder Broduck has had one goal: to have illegal users of the extra-dimensional magic brought to justice. When Cayder secretly accepts an apprenticeship under the city’s best public defender, he wants to learn every legal trick to dismantle defence arguments for when he becomes a prosecutor. Then he’ll finally be able to make sure justice is served. But the three criminals he is to defend are teenagers, like him, and their stories are complicated, like his. As their cases unfold, Cayder must race to separate the truth from the lies and uncover what really happened the night his mother died.

There were more than 800 entries received across the entire range of categories. Several of the long form categories received over 50 entries each. The winners will be announced and celebrated at the Aurealis Awards ceremony in Canberra on Saturday June 3, 2023. Best wishes to Astrid Scholte for great success at the Aurealis Awards!