2016 Aurealis Awards – are your entries in?
2016 Aurealis Awards are open for entries
2016 Aurealis Awards are now open for entries.
The Aurealis Awards, Australia’s premier awards for Speculative Fiction, are for works of speculative fiction written by an Australian citizen, or permanent resident, and published for the first time between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016.
We strongly encourage publishers and authors to enter all works published in the first half of the year immediately, and all new works as soon after publication as possible.
Entries close on 07 December 2016, and all entries must be physically received by 31 December 2016. Finalists will be announced early in 2017 and winners announced as part of the Swancon convention in Perth, over Easter 2017. For more information on the awards or for the entry form, visit the Aurealis Awards website at www.aurealisawards.org
For more information contact the Awards convenor, PRK, at aurealisawards@gmail.com or judging coordinator Katharine Stubbs aajudges@gmail.com.
2015 Aurealis Awards program booklet and panel reports
Click the link to download a PDF of the 21st Aurealis Awards Ceremony program booklet (March 25, 2016), containing the panel reports for this year.
Thank you to Cat Sparks for her great work on the program!
Aurealis Awards call for 2016 Judges
Applications are now open for the 2016 Aurealis Awards judging panels.
Please read the following information carefully before submitting your application as we cannot make exceptions to the requirements.
We are seeking expressions of interest from people who would like to judge for the 2016 Aurealis Awards. Judges are volunteers and are drawn from the Australian speculative fiction community, from diverse professions and backgrounds, including academics, booksellers, librarians, published authors, publishing industry professionals, reviewers and enthusiasts. The only qualification necessary is a demonstrated knowledge of and interest in their chosen category. All judges must be willing and able to read electronic entries in either mobi or epub format, which we accept in all categories. Graphic Novel entries may also be submitted in PDF. Print is still sometimes sent by entrants but we no longer require it.
Panel sizes may vary among categories – and from year to year – depending on the perceived workload required and the availability of judges for a particular category. However, each panel will consist of at least three judges, one of which will be the panel convenor.
Being an Aurealis Awards judge involves reading entries in one field (which may comprise more than one category), which may consist of several dozen novels and/or more than a hundred short stories in the process of evaluating the year’s entries. The reading load can become quite heavy at the end of the judging period although we endeavour to obtain works as soon as they are published. Judges may keep their reading copies of entries.
The 2016 ceremony will be held over Easter 2017 in Perth, Western Australia, at Swancon 42. The Awards are now under the auspices of the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation. This may mean we are unable to continue to offer judges complimentary tickets to the ceremony. However, judges will at least be eligible for one discounted ticket to the Awards ceremony.
Categories are:
- Science Fiction Novel
- Science Fiction Short Story / Novella (two categories judged by one panel)
- Fantasy Novel
- Fantasy Short Story / Novella (two categories judged by one panel)
- Horror Novel / Novella / Horror Short Story (three categories judged by one panel)
- Young Adult Novel / Young Adult Short Story (two categories judged by one panel)
- Children’s Fiction
- Collection / Anthology (two categories judged by one panel)
- Illustrated Book/Graphic Novel
The Aurealis Awards accepts electronic entries in all categories. Judges must be willing to accept and read entries in this format. Willingness and ability to read electronically is an essential aspect of the judging role.
It is vital that judges be able to work as part of a team and meet stringent deadlines. Most of the judges’ discussions are conducted via a private online forum or email.
Entries to the awards close in early December, with all work published between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016 eligible for entry. Shortlists from each panel will be required by February 2017 (firm dates will be advised), and prospective judges should be aware that this may be an intensive process.
Dates for Judging (to be confirmed):
- June 2016 – entries open
- Early December 2016 – entries close
- December 21 2016 – final entries must be received by judges
- February 2017 – shortlists and finalists must be decided
- March/April 2017 – Awards ceremony (details to be advised)
All discussions are confidential between the judges in each panel and the judging coordinator and/or the Aurealis Awards management team, as required. The Aurealis Awards judging coordinator will have no input into these decisions except to mediate panel issues.
Judges from previous Aurealis Awards processes are welcome – indeed encouraged – to re-apply. But, in the interests of transparency and impartiality, no one may judge the same category for more than two consecutive years, and a break of two consecutive years is required before a judge can reapply to be a judge in that particular category again.
Please provide the following information to Judging Coordinator Katharine Stubbs at aajudges@gmail.com, by 10 May, 2016.
- Name
- Postal Address
- Email Address
- Telephone number
- Preferred judging categories (please provide at least three options, in order of preference).
- A paragraph or two detailing relevant experience and reasons you would like to be a judge for the Awards.
- Preferred e-file format – all judges must nominate either mobi (for Kindle) or ePub (with the understanding that files may also be occasionally received in print, PDF or rtf).
The judging positions are open to Australian residents only.
The Winners of the 2015 Aurealis Awards
Congratulations to all the winners of the 2015 Aurealis Awards!
BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION
A Single Stone, Meg McKinlay (Walker Books Australia)
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL / ILLUSTRATED WORK
The Singing Bones, Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)
BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY
“The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
BEST HORROR SHORT STORY
“Bullets”, Joanne Anderton (In Sunshine Bright and Darkness Deep, AHWA)
BEST HORROR NOVELLA
“The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY
“The Giant’s Lady”, Rowena Cory Daniells (Legends 2, Newcon Press)
BEST FANTASY NOVELLA
“Defy the Grey Kings”, Jason Fischer (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Firkin Press)
BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
“All the Wrong Places”, Sean Williams (Meeting Infinity, Solaris)
BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA
“By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers”, Garth Nix (Old Venus, Random House)
BEST COLLECTION
To Hold the Bridge, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
Bloodlines, Amanda Pillar (ed.) (Ticonderoga Publications)
BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
In The Skin of a Monster, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)
BEST HORROR NOVEL
Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)
BEST FANTASY NOVEL
Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)
BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
Illuminae, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
SARA DOUGLASS BOOK SERIES AWARD
The Watergivers [The Last Stormlord (2009), Stormlord Rising (2010), Stormlord’s Exile (2011)], Glenda Larke (HarperVoyager)
THE CONVENORS’ AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Letters to Tiptree, Alexandra Pierce and Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)
Announcement: Aurealis Awards ceremony to livestream to Swancon!
We’re very pleased to announce that Contact, Swancon and the Aurealis Awards teams have been able to organise a live streaming event for the Aurealis Awards ceremony on Friday 25 March. If you are planning to attend Swancon, you will be able to watch the ceremony LIVE from Brisbane! Please visit the Swancon website for programming times.
If you want to attend the ceremony live in Brisbane, please get in and get your tickets ASAP. It looks like we will have to close off tickets sales early and will NOT be able to sell tickets at the door, due to licencing restrictions at the hotels, so it is imperative that if you want to be at the Awards, you get your ticket this week!
https://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=183603&bof=1
And remember, Contact has special discounted offers for AA attendees who would also like to attend the convention! http://contact2016.com/memberships/
Announcing the Emcees!
We would like to introduce you to the hosts of the 2015 Aurealis Awards ceremony. It is our very great pleasure to welcome Brisbane locals Rowena Cory Daniells and Marianne de Pierres as emcees for the evening! They will be ably supported by a myriad of presenters on the night, including:
Keri Arthur
Liz Barr
Kate Eltham
Kate Forsyth
Lisa L. Hannett
Kathleen Jennings
Jill Pantozzi
Angela Slatter
Cat Sparks
Helen Stubbs
Nike Sulway
Kaaron Warren
It’s going to be a fantastic night, and we can’t wait to see you there. Don’t forget to grab your tickets to the ceremony and pre-event cocktail party – they’re selling fast!
Reminder: tickets for the Aurealis Awards ceremony are limited!
A reminder that the Aurealis Awards ceremony in Brisbane on Friday 25 March is a ticketed event with limited tickets available. It is a SEPARATE event from Contact membership, with discount ticketing available for members of the Contact convention, but not included in membership.
We are hosting a cocktail party for ticket-holders only immediately prior to the Awards ceremony. Don’t forget to buy your ticket!
This year, the Aurealis Awards ceremony will be held in Brisbane, as part of the 2016 Natcon CONTACT.
WHEN: 6.30pm, Friday 25 March, 2016
WHERE: Hotel Jen, 159 Roma Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000
Tickets to the ceremony are $30.00 if purchased online by Wednesday 23 March, or $60 at the door.
Full attending members of the Contact convention are eligible for a discounted ticket price (you will receive information via the convention organisers by email regarding this).
To book your ticket, please use the link below.
http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=183603&bof=1
If you would also like to attend Contact as a member, and take part in the fantastic programming on offer, you can grab your membership here!
Aurealis Awards Ceremony, Friday 25 March, 2016
This year, the Aurealis Awards ceremony will be held in Brisbane, as part of the 2016 Natcon CONTACT.
WHEN: 6.30pm, Friday 25 March, 2016
WHERE: Hotel Jen, 159 Roma Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000
Tickets to the ceremony are $30.00 if purchased online by Wednesday 23 March, or $60 at the door (if available).
Full attending members of the Contact convention are eligible for a discounted ticket price (you will receive information via the convention organisers by email regarding this).
To book your ticket, please use the link below.
http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=183603&bof=1
If you would also like to attend Contact as a member, and take part in the fantastic programming on offer, you can grab your membership here!
ANNOUNCEMENT: 2015 Aurealis Awards Shortlists
2015 Aurealis Awards finalists announced
The Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF), organisers of the 2015 Aurealis Awards, are delighted to announce the finalists for the Awards.
Awards Convenor P.R. Khangure said WASFF was pleased to be part of the evolving Aurealis Awards structure. “The introduction of three new categories, for novella length fiction (7,500-40,000 words) in the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror categories, reflects a growth in this length of story. The number of entries in the Sara Douglass Book Series Award, operated for the first time this year, was also fantastic. I’m proud to have been part of the organising team that introduced these new categories for the Awards.
“We are gratified to see that publishing models of all types and sizes are well represented in the shortlists, reflecting the general entry trend.
Judging Coordinator Tehani Wessely said that with over 750 entries across the fifteen categories, and nearly 200 books across 55 series in the inaugural Sara Douglass Book Series Award, the judges had a hugely challenging job.
“As is always the case, the judges agreed that entries were of a very high standard and the final decisions were subject to much debate among the panellists. The competition becomes stronger every year. We would like to thank all the judges for their time and effort judging of these awards.”
Winners of the 2015 Aurealis Awards, the Sara Douglass Book Series Award, and the Convenors’ Award for Excellence will be announced at the Aurealis Awards ceremony, on the evening of Friday 25 March, 2016 as part of the Contact national convention at the Hotel Jen, Brisbane. Details of the evening and a link to the online booking website are available at www.aurealisawards.org
2015 Aurealis Awards – Finalists
BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION
A Week Without Tuesday, Angelica Banks (Allen & Unwin)
The Cut-Out, Jack Heath (Allen & Unwin)
A Single Stone, Meg McKinlay (Walker Books Australia)
Bella and the Wandering House, Meg McKinlay (Fremantle Press)
The Mapmaker Chronicles: Prisoner of the Black Hawk, A.L. Tait (Hachette Australia)
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL / ILLUSTRATED WORK
The Undertaker Morton Stone Vol.1, Gary Chaloner, Ben Templesmith, and Ashley Wood (Gestalt)
The Diemenois, Jamie Clennett (Hunter Publishers)
Unmasked Vol.1: Going Straight is No Way to Die, Christian Read (Gestalt)
The Singing Bones, Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)
Fly the Colour Fantastica, various authors (Veriko Operative)
BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY
“In Sheep’s Clothing”, Kimberly Gaal (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #61)
“The Nexus Tree”, Kimberly Gaal (The Never Never Land, CSFG)
“The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
“The Heart of the Labyrinth”, DK Mok (In Memory: A Tribute to Sir Terry Pratchett, Sorin Suciu)
“Blueblood”, Faith Mudge (Hear Me Roar, Ticonderoga Publications)
Welcome to Orphancorp, Marlee Jane Ward (Seizure)
BEST HORROR SHORT STORY
“Bullets”, Joanne Anderton (In Sunshine Bright and Darkness Deep, AHWA)
“Consorting with Filth”, Lisa L Hannett (Blurring the Line, Cohesion Press)
“Heirloom Pieces”, Lisa L Hannett (Apex Magazine, Apex Publications)
“The Briskwater Mare”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
“Breaking Windows”, Tracie McBride (Aurealis #84)
“Self, Contained”, Kirstyn McDermott (The Dark, TDM Press)
BEST HORROR NOVELLA
“Night Shift”, Dirk Flinthart (Striking Fire, FableCroft Publishing)
“The Cherry Crow Children of Haverny Wood”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
“The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
“Wages of Honey”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
“Sleepless”, Jay Kristoff (Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, Penguin)
“Ripper”, Angela Slatter (Horrorology, Jo Fletcher Books)
BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY
“The Giant’s Lady”, Rowena Cory Daniells (Legends 2, Newcon Press)
“The Jellyfish Collector”, Michelle Goldsmith (Review of Australian Fiction Vol. 13 Issue 6)
“A Shot of Salt Water”, Lisa L Hannett (The Dark, TDM Press)
“Almost Days”, DK Mok (Insert Title Here, FableCroft Publishing)
“Blueblood”, Faith Mudge (Hear Me Roar, Ticonderoga Publications)
“Husk and Sheaf”, Suzanne Willis (SQ Mag 22, IFWG Publishing Australia)
BEST FANTASY NOVELLA
“Lodloc and The Bear”, Steve Cameron (Dimension6, coeur de lion)
“Defy the Grey Kings”, Jason Fischer (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Firkin Press)
“Broken Glass”, Stephanie Gunn (Hear Me Roar, Ticonderoga Publications)
“The Flowers that Bloom Where Blood Touches the Earth”, Stephanie Gunn (Bloodlines, Ticonderoga Publications)
“Haunting Matilda”, Dmetri Kakmi (Cthulhu: Deep Down Under, Horror Australis)
“Of Sorrow and Such”, Angela Slatter (Tor.com)
BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
“2B”, Joanne Anderton (Insert Title Here, Fablecroft)
“The Marriage of the Corn King”, Claire McKenna (Cosmos)
“Alchemy and Ice”, Charlotte Nash (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #61)
“Witnessing”, Kaaron Warren (The Canary Press Story Magazine #6)
“All the Wrong Places”, Sean Williams (Meeting Infinity, Solaris)
BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA
“Blood and Ink”, Jack Bridges, Prizm Books
“The Molenstraat Music Festival”, Sean Monaghan (Asimov’s Science Fiction)
“By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers”, Garth Nix (Old Venus, Random House)
BEST COLLECTION
The Abandonment of Grace and Everything After, Shane Jiraiya Cummings (Brimstone Press)
Striking Fire, Dirk Flinthart (FableCroft Publishing)
Cherry Crow Children, Deborah Kalin (Twelfth Planet Press)
To Hold the Bridge, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)
The Fading, Carole Nomarhas (self-published)
The Finest Ass in the Universe, Anna Tambour (Ticonderoga Publications)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
Hear Me Roar, Liz Grzyb (ed.) (Ticonderoga Publications)
The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2014, Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene (eds.) (Ticonderoga Publications)
Bloodlines, Amanda Pillar (ed.) (Ticonderoga Publications)
Meeting Infinity, Jonathan Strahan (ed.), (Solaris)
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 9, Jonathan Strahan (ed.) (Solaris)
Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction, Tehani Wessely (ed.) (FableCroft Publishing)
BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
In The Skin of a Monster, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)
Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, Alison Goodman (HarperCollins)
The Fire Sermon, Francesca Haig (HarperVoyager)
Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)
Illuminae, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
The Hush, Skye Melki-Wagner (Penguin Random House Australia)
BEST HORROR NOVEL
No Shortlist Released
BEST FANTASY NOVEL
In The Skin of a Monster, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)
Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, Alison Goodman (HarperCollins)
Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)
The Dagger’s Path, Glenda Larke (Hachette Australia)
Tower Of Thorns, Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)
Skin, Ilka Tampke (Text Publishing)
BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
Crossed, Evelyn Blackwell (self-published)
Clade, James Bradley (Penguin)
Illuminae, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
Their Fractured Light, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)
Renegade, Joel Shepherd (Kindle Direct)
Twinmaker: Fall, Sean Williams (Allen & Unwin)
SARA DOUGLASS BOOK SERIES AWARD
The Chronicles of King Rolen’s Kin [The King’s Bastard (2010), The Uncrowned King (2010), The Usurper (2010), The King’s Man (2012), King Breaker (2013)], Rowena Cory Daniells (Solaris Press)
The Watergivers [The Last Stormlord (2009), Stormlord Rising (2010), Stormlord’s Exile (2011)], Glenda Larke (HarperVoyager)
The Lumatere Chronicles [Finnikin of the Rock (2008), Froi of the Exiles (2011), Quintana of Charyn (2012)], Melina Marchetta (Penguin Random House)
Sevenwaters [Daughter of the Forest (2000), Son of the Shadows (2001), Child of the Prophecy (2002), Heir to Sevenwaters (2009), Seer of Sevenwaters (2011), Flame of Sevenwaters (2013)], Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)
The Laws of Magic [Blaze Of Glory (2007), Heart Of Gold (2007), Word Of Honour (2008), Time Of Trial (2009), Moment Of Truth (2010), Hour Of Need (2011)], Michael Pryor (Random House Australia)
Creature Court [Power and Majesty (2010), Shattered City (2011), Reign of Beasts (2012)], Tansy Rayner Roberts (HarperVoyager)
