Chris Hammer Explained

Chris Hammer (born 1960) is an Australian journalist and writer of crime fiction. He is known for his best-selling Martin Scarsden series of novels.

Early life and education

Chris Hammer was born in 1960.^[1]

Career

Hammer has a 30-year career as a journalist and has worked for The Bulletin, Fairfax and on the SBS program, Dateline.^[2] When writing his crime novels he allows the story to develop, rather than plotting it out in advance.^[3]

In 2011 he published a non-fiction book entitled The River.

He wrote the Martin Scarsden series of novels, that have been bestsellers in several countries, starting with Scrublands in 2018.^[4]

Recognition and awards

He won the ACT Book of the Year in 2011 for his non-fiction book The River.^[5]

His first novel, Scrublands, won the John Creasey Award at the UK Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Awards in 2019.^[6] The Tilt won the 2023 Danger Award for best crime fiction.^[7]

The Seven was shortlisted for the 2024 Fiction Indie Book Award.^[8]

Selected works

Martin Scarsden series

• Scrublands (2018)
• Silver (2019)
• Trust (2020)

Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan series

• Treasure and Dirt (2021) (also published as Opal Country (UK))
• The Tilt (2022) (also published as Dead Man's Creek (UK))
• The Seven (2023)
• The Valley (2024)

Non-fiction

• The River (2010)
• The Coast (2012)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hammer, Chris, 1960- . id.loc.gov . July 7, 2021.
2. Web site: Chris Hammer. live. 2021-07-07. Curtis Brown. https://web.archive.org/web/20210615154715/https://curtisbrown.co.uk/client/chris-hammer . 2021-06-15 .
3. Web site: 2020-10-05. Chris Hammer: From the bush to the city for Trust. 2021-07-07. HerCanberra. en-US.
4. Web site: 2019-09-28. Chris Hammer: 'I am a serial killer. I kill my darlings left, right and centre'. 2021-07-07. the Guardian. en.
5. Web site: 2012-12-07. Gammage wins 2012 ACT Book of the Year Award. live. 2021-07-07. Books+Publishing. en-AU. https://web.archive.org/web/20160326085643/http://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2012/12/07/25775/gammage-wins-2012-act-book-of-the-year-award/ . 2016-03-26 .
6. Web site: 2019-10-25. Hammer wins UK Dagger award for ‘Scrublands’. live. 2021-07-07. Books+Publishing. en-AU. https://web.archive.org/web/20191029110806/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2019/10/25/141627/hammer-wins-uk-dagger-award-for-scrublands/ . 2019-10-29 .
7. Web site: 2023-11-03 . Danger Awards 2023 winners announced . 2023-11-08 . Books+Publishing.
8. Web site: 2024-01-17 . Indie Book Awards 2024 shortlists announced . 2024-01-17 . Books+Publishing.