2017 Aurealis Awards are open for entry

Posted on July 4, 2017 by

 

2017 Aurealis Awards overseers, the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF), announces that the 2017 Aurealis Awards are now open for entries.

The Aurealis Awards, Australia’s premier awards for speculative fiction, are for works of speculative fiction created by an Australian citizen, or permanent resident, and published for the first time between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2017. Categories include Children’s, Young Adult, Graphic Novel/Illustrated Work, Anthologies, Collections, Novels, Short Stories and Novellas.

2017 Aurealis Awards convenor, PRK, says “As Australia’s only juried speculative fiction awards, we believe the Aurealis Awards have an important place in fostering an appreciation of the genre in Australia.”

“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,” says judging co-coordinator Tehani Croft. “Our judging teams appreciate having time to consider each entry carefully. It’s a huge job!”

Entries close on 07 December 2017, and all entries must be physically received by 31 December 2017. Finalists will be announced early in 2018 and winners announced at a special presentation evening to be announced later this year. For more information on the awards or to register your entry, visit the Aurealis Awards website at www.aurealisawards.org.

For more information contact the Awards convenor, PRK, at aurealisawards@gmail.com or judging co-coordinators Katharine Stubbs and Tehani Croft at aajudges@gmail.com.

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Announcing the 2017 Aurealis Awards Judging Panels

Posted on May 10, 2017 by

Every year, we are fortunate that people from all over Australia volunteer their time and expertise to judge for the Aurealis Awards. They are amazing, they work extremely hard, and each year bring you the best of the best Australian spec fic has to offer. Please welcome this year’s wonderful teams!

We will be posting their bios on the Judges page of the website very soon, so you can get to know them a little better.

CHILDREN’S PANEL

Kerry Armstrong

Miffy Farquharson (panel convenor)

Caitlin Chisholm

Sharon Smith

YOUNG ADULT PANEL (two categories)

Laura Birch

Nicole Gosling

Jessica Harvie

Belle McQuattie (panel convenor)

Kirsten Reim

FANTASY NOVEL PANEL

Yvonne L Barrett

Astrid Edwards

Deb Gates

Russell Kirkpatrick (panel convenor)

Ali MacGregor

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL PANEL

Nola Cavallaro

Stephanie Gunn (panel convenor)

Chris Lampard

Bethwyn Marshall

Carol Ryles

HORROR NOVEL & NOVELLA PANEL (two categories)

Paige Belfield

Matthew R. Davis (panel convenor)

Tom Woodward

Christine Yunn-Yu Sun

FANTASY NOVELLA & SHORT STORY PANEL (two categories)

Paula Boer

Maureen Flynn

Rob Porteous (panel convenor)

Andrei Seleznev

Shel Sweeney

SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA & SHORT STORY PANEL (two categories)

Imogen Cassidy

Mark Fazackerley

Anna Hepworth

Fergus McCartan

Gene Melzack (panel convenor)

HORROR SHORT STORY PANEL

Holly Harper

Talitha Kalago

Emma Kate (panel convenor)

Durand Welsh

ANTHOLOGIES & COLLECTIONS PANEL (two categories)

Lorraine Cormack

Abigail Nathan

Jenna O’Connell

Cathie Tasker (panel convenor)

ILLUSTRATED WORK PANEL

Lyn Battersby (panel convenor)

Kimberley Gaal

Emilly McLeay

Jacqueline Wheadon

Cassandra White

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Aurealis Awards call for 2017 judges

Posted on April 20, 2017 by

Applications are now open for the 2017 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 Australian residents who would like to judge for the 2017 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 (good time management skills are also essential).

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 for one panel (which may comprise more than one category). This may consist of several dozen novels and/or more than a hundred short stories / novellas 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. Convenors of each panel are also required to participate in the judging of the Convenors’ Award for Excellence, which involves additional consumption of material.

The Awards are currently under the auspices of the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation. We aim to offer judges complimentary or discounted entry to the annual Awards ceremony for current judges, but this cannot be confirmed at this stage.

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 or two panel, depending on availability of judges)
  • 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, 2017 and December 31, 2017 eligible for entry. Shortlists from each panel will be required by February 2018 (firm dates will be advised), and prospective judges should be aware that this may be an intensive process.

Dates for Judging (to be confirmed):

  • May/June 2017 – entries open
  • Early December 2017 – entries close
  • December 21 2017 – final entries must be received by judges
  • February 2018 – shortlists and finalists must be decided
  • March/April 2018 – 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 Coordinators Tehani Croft and Katharine Stubbs at aajudges@gmail.com, by 7 May, 2017. 

  1. Name
  2. Postal Address
  3. Email Address 
  4. Telephone number
  5. Preferred judging categories (please provide at least three options, in order of preference).
  6. Willing to act as a panel convenor (Y/N).
  7. A paragraph or two detailing relevant experience and reasons you would like to be a judge for the Awards.
  8. 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.

we want you

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Announcing the winners of the 2016 Aurealis Awards!

Posted on April 14, 2017 by

Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 Aurealis Awards!

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

When the Lyrebird Calls, Kim Kane (Allen & Unwin)

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL / ILLUSTRATED WORK

Negative Space, Ryan K Lindsay (Dark Horse Comics)

BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

“Pretty Jennie Greenteeth”, Leife Shallcross (Strange Little Girls, Belladonna Publishing)

BEST HORROR SHORT STORY

“Flame Trees”, TR Napper (Asimov’s Science Fiction, April/May 2016)

BEST HORROR NOVELLA

“Burnt Sugar”, Kirstyn McDermott (Dreaming in the Dark, PS Australia)

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY

“Where the Pelican Builds Her Nest”, Thoraiya Dyer (In Your Face, FableCroft Publishing)

BEST FANTASY NOVELLA

“Forfeit”, Andrea K Höst (The Towers, the Moon, self-published)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

“Of Sight, of Mind, of Heart”, Samantha Murray (Clarkesworld #122)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA

“Salto Mortal”, Nick T Chan (Lightspeed #73)

BEST COLLECTION

A Feast of Sorrows, Angela Slatter (Prime Books)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015, Julia Rios and Alisa Krasnostein (eds.) (Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Lady Helen and the Dark Days Pact, Alison Goodman (HarperCollins Publishers)

BEST HORROR NOVEL

The Grief Hole, Kaaron Warren (IFWG Publishing Australia)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL

Nevernight, Jay Kristoff (Harper Voyager)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Gemina: Illuminae Files 2, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

THE CONVENORS’ AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower, Kate Forsyth (FableCroft Publishing)

The Aurealis Awards program book, containing the judging panels’ reports, can be downloaded here.

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Welcoming the hosts of the Aurealis Awards ceremony!

Posted on April 11, 2017 by

We’re very pleased to announce that the 2016 Aurealis Awards ceremony taking place in Perth this Friday night will be hosted by the wonderful team of much feted WA local author Glenda Larke and debut novelist (yes, really!) and East Coast ring-in Cat Sparks!

Glenda Larke was the winner of the inaugural Sara Douglass Book Series Award last year for her Watergivers series, and is a multi-awards nominated author for her books, the most recent of these being the final book of the Forsaken Lands trilogy. Cat Sparks has earned awards over the years for her artwork, editing, publishing and short story writing, and her debut novel, Lotus Blue, has just been released to the world.

Join us at the Aurealis Awards ceremony this Friday night to see this dynamic duo in action!

WHEN: 7.45pm for 8pm start, Friday 14 April, 2017

WHERE: Metro Hotel Perth, 61 Canning Highway, South Perth, WA, 6151

The Aurealis Awards ceremony is a non-ticketed, free event – all welcome.

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: change to Aurealis Awards ceremony

Posted on April 9, 2017 by
Regretfully, due to a series of unforseen circumstances, we have had to cancel the pre-ceremony cocktail party for the Aurealis Awards. Paid tickets will be refunded over the next 24 hours.
The Aurealis Awards ceremony itself will still take place, and will be a non-ticketed, free event.

WHEN: 7.45pm for 8pm start, Friday 14 April, 2017

WHERE: Metro Hotel Perth, 61 Canning Highway, South Perth, WA, 6151

Our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this change will cause. We hope to see you at the ceremony.

AA logo

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2016 Aurealis Awards shortlist announcement

Posted on February 20, 2017 by

Aurealis Awards - Finalist - high resThe Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF), organisers of the 2016 Aurealis Awards, are delighted to announce the finalists for the Awards.

Winners of the 2016 Aurealis Awards and the Convenors’ Award for Excellence will be announced at the Aurealis Awards ceremony, on the evening of Friday 14 April, 2017 as part of the Swancon convention at the Metro Hotel, Perth. Details of the evening and a link to the online booking website will be available soon.

2016 Aurealis Awards – Finalists

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

Blueberry Pancakes Forever, Angelica Banks (Allen & Unwin)

Magrit, Lee Battersby (Walker Books Australia)

Somebody Stop Ivy Pocket, Caleb Crisp (Bloomsbury)

The Turners, Mick Elliott (Hachette Australia)

When the Lyrebird Calls, Kim Kane (Allen & Unwin)

The Hungry Isle, Emily Rodda (Omnibus Books)

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL / ILLUSTRATED WORK

Mechanica, Lance Balchin (Five Mile)

BROBOT, James Foley (Fremantle Press)

Negative Space, Ryan K Lindsay (Dark Horse Comics)

The Spider King, Josh Vann (self-published)

BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

“A Right Pretty Mate”, Lisa L Hannett (Dreaming in the Dark, PS Australia)

“Dune Time”, Jack Nicholls (Tor.com)

“No One Here is Going to Save You”, Shauna O’Meara (In Your Face, FableCroft Publishing)

“Did We Break the End of the World?”, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Defying Doomsday, Twelfth Planet Press)

“Pretty Jennie Greenteeth”, Leife Shallcross (Strange Little Girls, Belladonna Publishing)

BEST HORROR SHORT STORY

“Non Zero Sum”, RPL Johnson (SNAFU: Hunters, Cohesion Press)

“Flame Trees”, TR Napper (Asimov’s Science Fiction, April/May 2016)

“Penny for a Match, Mister?”, Garth Nix (The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales, Saga Press)

“The Red Forest”, Angela Slatter (Winter Children and Other Chilling Tales, PS Publishing)

“68 Days”, Kaaron Warren (Tomorrow’s Cthulhu, Broken Eye Books)

“Life, or Whatever Passes For It”, Durand Welsh (Peel Back the Skin, Grey Matter Press)

BEST HORROR NOVELLA

“Box of Bones”, Jeremy Bates (Ghillinnein Books)

“Served Cold”, Alan Baxter (Dreaming in the Dark, PS Australia)

“Waking in Winter”, Deborah Biancotti (PS Publishing)

“Burnt Sugar”, Kirstyn McDermott (Dreaming in the Dark, PS Australia)

“Pan”, Christopher Ruz (Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #62)

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY

“Watercress Soup”, Tamlyn Dreaver (Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #65)

“Where the Pelican Builds Her Nest”, Thoraiya Dyer (In Your Face, FableCroft Publishing)

“Dune Time”, Jack Nicholls (Tor.com)

“Penny for a Match, Mister?”, Garth Nix (The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales, Saga Press)

“The Lighthouse at Cape Defeat”, David Versace (Aurealis #89)

“The Cartographer’s Price”, Suzanne Willis (Mythic Delirium Issue 3.1)

BEST FANTASY NOVELLA

“Raven’s First Flight”, Alan Baxter (SNAFU: Black Ops, Cohesion Press)

“By the Laws of Crab and Woman”, Jason Fischer (Review of Australian Fiction)

“Forfeit”, Andrea K Höst (The Towers, the Moon, self-published)

The Bonobo’s Dream, Rose Mulready (Seizure Press)

“Burnt Sugar”, Kirstyn McDermott (Dreaming in the Dark, PS Australia)

“Finnegan’s Field”, Angela Slatter (Tor.com)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

“Trainspotting in Winesburg”, Jack Dann (Concentration, PS Publishing)

“The Baby Eaters”, Ian McHugh (Asimov’s Science Fiction 40/1)

“The Autumn Dog Cannot Live to Spring”, Claire McKenna (In Your Face, Fablecroft)

“Of Sight, of Mind, of Heart”, Samantha Murray (Clarkesworld #122)

“68 Days”, Kaaron Warren (Tomorrow’s Cthulhu, Broken Eye Books)

“The Least of Things”, Jen White (Aurealis #94)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA

Waking in Winter, Deborah Biancotti (PS Publishing)

“Salto Mortal”, Nick T Chan (Lightspeed #73)

“Going Viral”, Thoraiya Dyer (Dimension6 #8, coeur de lion)

The Bonobo’s Dream, Rose Mulready (Seizure Press)

“All the Colours of the Tomato”, Simon Petrie (Dimension6 #9, coeur de lion)

“Did We Break the End of the World?”, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Defying Doomsday, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST COLLECTION

Crow Shine, Alan Baxter (Ticonderoga Publications)

Concentration, Jack Dann (PS Publishing)

A Feast of Sorrows, Angela Slatter (Prime)

Winter Children, Angela Slatter (PS Publishing)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Dreaming in the Dark, Jack Dann (ed.) (PS Australia)

Defying Doomsday, Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench (eds.) (Twelfth Planet Press)

Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015, Julia Rios and Alisa Krasnostein (eds.) (Twelfth Planet Press)

Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 10, Jonathan Strahan (ed.) (Solaris)

In Your Face, Tehani Wessely (ed.) (Fablecroft Publishing)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Elegy, Jane Abbott (Penguin Random House Australia)

The Bone Queen, Alison Croggon (Penguin Books Australia)

The Other Side of Summer, Emily Gale (Penguin Random House Australia)

Lady Helen and the Dark Days Pact, Alison Goodman (HarperCollins Publishers)

Gemina: Illuminae Files 2, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

Goldenhand, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)

BEST HORROR NOVEL

Fear is the Rider,  Kenneth Cook (Text Publishing)

My Sister Rosa, Justine Larbalestier (Allen & Unwin)

The Grief Hole, Kaaron Warren (IFWG Publishing Australia)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL

Nevernight, Jay Kristoff (Harper Voyager)

Fall of the Dagger, Glenda Larke (Hachette Australia)

Den of Wolves, Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Vigil, Angela Slatter (Jo Fletcher Books)

Road to Winter, Mark Smith (Text Publishing)

Sisters of the Fire, Kim Wilkins (Harlequin Australia)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Watershed, Jane Abbott (Penguin Random House)

Confluence, SK Dunstall (Ace Books)

Gemina: Illuminae Files 2, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

Squid’s Grief, DK Mok (self-published)

Stiletto, Daniel O’Malley (Harper Collins Publishers)

Threader, Rebekah Turner (Harlequin Australia)

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