Aurealis Awards

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.