Sara Douglass Book Series Awards closes soon!

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Tehani
Image courtesy of Cat Sparks

Sara Douglass. Image courtesy of Cat Sparks

Please be aware that the deadline for the Sara Douglass Book Series Award is 31 August, 2015. That is just two weeks away!

In this inaugural year, we hope to achieve comprehensive coverage of eligible Australian-authored series books that concluded between 2011 and 2014. Entry is free, and we strongly encourage electronic submission of entered titles.
For further information and to enter by the 31 August deadline, please visit https://aurealisawards.org/about/the-sara-douglass-book-series-award/
We also invite and encourage early entries of any 2015 publications already released for the regular Aurealis Awards categories. We love to give our judges plenty of time to consider your work!
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2015 Aurealis Awards are open for entries

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Tehani

AA logo2015 Aurealis Awards overseers, the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF), announces that the 2015 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 2015 and 31 December 2015.

2015 Aurealis Awards convenor, PRK, says “WASFF is pleased to be overseeing the Aurealis Awards for the next three years. 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 look forward to continuing to keep pace with the trends in speculative fiction, and are delighted to introduce the new Sara Douglass Book Series Award to recognise book series that are greater as a whole than the sum of their individual books.”

“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 Wessely. “Our judging teams appreciate having time to consider each entry carefully. It’s a huge job!”

“We also urge publishers and creators to be aware of the different deadlines for the Sara Douglass Award, the Convenors’ Award for Excellence, and the regular Aurealis Awards, to avoid disappointment when making entries.”

“Last year we made the decision to introduce a fee for entry for book categories, in order to keep the Awards afloat and help current and future organisers to not be out of pocket. Short fiction, children’s categories, the Sara Douglass Award and the Convenors’ Award for Excellence are free to enter. Entries into all the novel categories (including Graphic Novel) and the Anthology and Collections categories incur a $10 fee per entry per category.”

Entries close on 07 December 2015, and all entries must be physically received by 31 December 2015. Finalists will be announced early in 2016 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 Wessely at aajudges@gmail.com.

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Entries open (and coming soon)

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Tehani

AA logoEntries are now open for the Sara Douglass Book Series Award, which close on August 31, 2015. Nominations are also open for the Convenors’ Award for Excellence (closing December).

Please consider the information regarding both these Awards before making your entries, noting they have some quite different requirements to the regular Aurealis Award categories.

Entries for the Sara Douglass Book Series Award can be made here.

Entries for the Convenors’ Award for Excellence may be made here.

Entries for the usual Aurealis Awards categories will open soon — we are having a magnificent new entry form coded for the Awards and it is still being tweaked – stay tuned!

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Announcing the 2015 Aurealis Awards judging panels

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Tehani

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.

PANELLISTS
CHILDREN’S PANEL
Lyn Battersby
Sarah JH Fletcher (panel convenor)
Alethea Kinsela
Helen Merrick
YA PANEL
Alex Adsett
Lorraine Cormack
Miffy Farquharson (panel convenor)
Grace Nye
FANTASY NOVEL PANEL
Stuart Dunstan
Maureen Flynn
Emma Kate
Russell Kirkpatrick (panel convenor)
SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL PANEL
Shane Charles
Stephanie Gunn (panel convenor)
Rob Porteous
Trisha Suhr
FANTASY SHORT STORY PANEL
Deb Gates
Adrik Kemp
Fergus McCartan
Karen Simpson Nikakis (panel convenor)
HORROR PANEL
Talitha Kalago
Maree Kimberley
Blake Liddell
Cathie Tasker (panel convenor)
SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY PANEL
Ben Payne
Alex Pierce (panel convenor)
Rivqa Rafael
Jonathan Strahan
ANTHOLOGIES/COLLECTIONS PANEL
Zara Baxter (panel convenor)
Anna Hepworth
Paula McGrath
Gene Melzack
Rob Riel
ILLUSTRATED WORK PANEL
Rob Hood
Heather Iveson
Amy Maynard
Bethwyn Walker (panel convenor)
SARA DOUGLASS SERIES BOOKS
Belle McQuattie
PRK
Katharine Stubbs
Tehani Wessely
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Announcing the Sara Douglass Book Series Award

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Tehani

It is our very great pleasure to announce the introduction of the Sara Douglass Book Series Award.

Image courtesy of Cat Sparks

Image courtesy of Cat Sparks

BACKGROUND

With the blessing of the executor of Sara Douglass’s estate, the Aurealis Awards is very pleased to introduce the Sara Douglass Book Series Award.

This Award is named for one of Australia’s best known speculative fiction writers. Sara Douglass was the flagship author of the HarperVoyager Australian line, which launched the careers of many of our most popular writers, and paved the way for the vibrant and diverse speculative fiction scene Australia has today. Sara’s contribution to the state of speculative fiction in Australia cannot be underestimated, and we are proud to commemorate her in this Award.

ABOUT THE AWARD

  • The Sara Douglass Book Series Award is a WASFF-hosted trial, and covers series ending between 2011 and 2014 (in the inaugural year).
  • The current judging year is deliberately excluded. This permits an earlier submissions deadline to allow adequate time for the judges to consider all works entered.
  • Submissions for this Award are due by August 31, 2015. Please note this is earlier than the regular Aurealis Awards categories.
  • The Award will potentially thereafter be held periodically (not annually, but to be advised), covering the interim years.
  • The Sara Douglass Book Series Award is not an Aurealis Award as such, but a separate, special award conferred during the ceremony (like the Convenors’ Award for Excellence).

GENERAL ELIGIBILITY

  • For the purpose of the Sara Douglass Book Series Award, a “series” is defined as a continuing ongoing story told through two or more books, which must be considered as ending in one of the years covered by the judging period.
  • This award is to recognise that there are book series that are greater as a whole than the sum of their parts – that is, the judges are looking for a series that tells a story across the series, not one that just uses the same characters/setting across loosely connected books. It is anticipated that shortlisted works will be best enjoyed read in succession, with an arc that begins in the first book and is completed in the last.
  • The series may be in any speculative genre within the extended bounds of science fiction, fantasy or horror (that is, if a book would be considered on an individual basis for one of the regular Aurealis Awards, the series may be considered here).
  • The Sara Douglass Book Series Award does not replace or depose individual books being entered in the usual categories – it is a supplementary Award.
  • As with the rules for Illustrated Work/Graphic Novel and serialised novels, if a series is considered finished and entered at the conclusion of (for example) book three, but then is continued in future works, the future works *may* be entered as a series at a later point, but the first trilogy (for example), if previously entered in the Series award, may not be considered again. As an example – if the first three books of Sara Douglass’s Wayfarer Redemption series (Battleaxe / Enchanter / Starman) had been entered in the Sara Douglass Book Series Award in the year following the publication of the final book, the subsequent trilogy continuing the story (Sinner / Pilgrim / Crusader) could have been entered in a later year, but the first three could not be considered again as a series of six. However, if the first three books had never been considered for the Sara Douglass Book Series Award, all six could have been entered at the conclusion. Essentially, parts of an extended series may only be considered once for this Award (although as noted, individual books are still eligible for regular Aurealis Awards categories in their year of publication).
  • There is no entry fee for this special Award category, but all books must be supplied to the judging panel by the entrant (publisher or author).

Entries to this Award will open at the same time as the rest of the Aurealis Awards but will close on August 31, to permit the judging panel sufficient time to consider the number of entries anticipated. Please consider following us on Twitter, Facebook or by RSS to stay informed about forthcoming announcements.

Please contact the Judging Co-ordinator if you have any queries about the Sara Douglass Book Series Award.

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We welcome our new Aurealis Awards overlords!

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Tehani

AA logoWe would like to formally welcome the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF) as our new overlords for the next three years!

The Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF) is a non profit, community based organisation that aims to promote science fiction in all mediums in Western Australia.

Following on from the great tradition begun several years ago by Fantastic Queensland, picked up by SpecFaction NSW and most recently exemplified by Conflux Inc., WASFF has taken on oversight of the Aurealis Awards, under the capable administration of PRK as Awards Convenor. Tehani Wessely and Katharine Stubbs will continue sharing the role of Judging Co-ordinator, and we all look forward to bringing you another excellent run of Awards under the auspices of WASFF.

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Aurealis Awards call for 2015 Judges

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Tehani

AA logoApplications are now open for the 2015 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 2015 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 two categories), 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 2015 ceremony will be held in March or April 2016. The Awards are now under the auspices of the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation, but we are yet to confirm the location and date of the ceremony. 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
  • Fantasy Novel
  • Fantasy Short Story
  • Horror Novel / Horror Short Story (two 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, 2015 and December 31, 2015 eligible for entry. Shortlists from each panel will be required by February 2016 (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 2015 – entries open
  • Early December 2015 – entries close
  • December 21 2015 – final entries must be received by judges
  • February 2016 – shortlists and finalists must be decided
  • March/April 2016 – 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 Katharine Stubbs & Tehani Wessely at aajudges@gmail.com, by 30 April, 2015. 

  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. A paragraph or two detailing relevant experience and reasons you would like to be a judge for the Awards.
  7. 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.

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And the winners are…

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Tehani

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Congratulations to all the winners awarded at the glitzy ceremony in Canberra last night. It was a wonderful event, organised by Awards convenor extraordinaire Nicole Murphy and hosted by the amazing Margo Lanagan. While we announced the results on Twitter and Facebook as it happened, for posterity, the winners of the 2014 Aurealis Awards are:

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BEST FANTASY NOVEL

Fireborn, Keri Arthur (Hachette Australia)

This Shattered World, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)

The Lascar’s Dagger, Glenda Larke (Hachette Australia)

Dreamer’s Pool, Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia) – WINNER

Afterworlds, Scott Westerfeld (Penguin Books Australia)

Daughters of the Storm, Kim Wilkins (Harlequin Enterprises Australia)

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY

“The Oud”, Thoraiya Dyer (Long Hidden, Crossed Genres Publications)

“Teratogen”, Deb Kalin (Cemetery Dance, #71, May 2014)

“The Ghost of Hephaestus”, Charlotte Nash (Phantazein, FableCroft Publications)

“St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls”, Angela Slatter (The Review of Australian Fiction, Volume 9, Issue 3) – WINNER

“The Badger Bride”, Angela Slatter (Strange Tales IV, Tartarus Press)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Aurora: Meridian, Amanda Bridgeman (Momentum)

Nil By Mouth, LynC (Satalyte)

The White List, Nina D’Aleo (Momentum)

Peacemaker, Marianne de Pierres (Angry Robot) – WINNER

This Shattered World, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)

Foresight, Graham Storrs (Momentum)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

“The Executioner Goes Home”, Deborah Biancotti (Review of Australian Fiction, Vol 11 Issue 6)

“Wine, Women and Stars”, Thoraiya Dyer (Analog Vol CXXXIV nos 1&2 Jan/Feb) – WINNER

“The Glorious Aerybeth”, Jason Fisher (OnSpec, 11 Sep 2014)

“Dellinger”, Charlotte Nash (Use Only As Directed, Peggy Bright Books)

“Happy Go Lucky”, Garth Nix (Kaleidoscope, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST HORROR NOVEL

Book of the Dead, Greig Beck (Momentum)

Razorhurst, Justine Larbalestier (Allen & Unwin) – WINNER

Obsidian, Alan Baxter (HarperVoyager)

BEST HORROR SHORT STORY

“The Executioner Goes Home”, Deborah Biancotti (Review of Australian Fiction, Vol 11 Issue 6)

“Skinsuit”, James Bradley (Island Magazine 137)

“By the Moon’s Good Grace”, Kirstyn McDermott (Review of Australian Fiction, Vol 12, Issue 3)

“Shay Corsham Worsted”, Garth Nix (Fearful Symmetries, Chizine)

“Home and Hearth”, Angela Slatter (Spectral Press) – WINNER

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

The Astrologer’s Daughter, Rebecca Lim (Text Publishing)

Afterworld, Lynnette Lounsbury (Allen & Unwin)

The Cracks in the Kingdom, Jaclyn Moriarty (Pan Macmillan Australia) – WINNER

Clariel, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)

The Haunting of Lily Frost, Nova Weetman (UQP)

Afterworlds, Scott Westerfeld (Penguin Books Australia)

BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

“In Hades”, Goldie Alexander (Celapene Press)

“Falling Leaves”, Liz Argyll (Apex Magazine)

“The Fuller and the Bogle”, David Cornish (Tales from the Half-Continent, Omnibus Books)

“Vanilla”, Dirk Flinthart (Kaleidoscope, Twelfth Planet Press) – WINNER

“Signature”, Faith Mudge (Kaleidoscope, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

Slaves of Socorro: Brotherband #4, John Flanagan (Random House Australia)

Ophelia and the Marvellous Boy, Karen Foxlee (Hot Key Books)

The Last Viking Returns, Norman Jorgensen and James Foley (ILL.) (Fremantle Press)

Withering-by-Sea, Judith Rossell (ABC Books)

Sunker’s Deep: The Hidden #2, Lian Tanner (Allen & Unwin)

Shadow Sister: Dragon Keeper #5, Carole Wilkinson (Black Dog Books)  – WINNER

BEST COLLECTION

The Female Factory, Lisa L Hannett and Angela Slatter (Twelfth Planet Press) – WINNER

Secret Lives, Rosaleen Love (Twelfth Planet Press)

Angel Dust, Ian McHugh (Ticonderoga Publications)

Difficult Second Album: more stories of Xenobiology, Space Elevators, and Bats Out Of Hell, Simon Petrie (Peggy Bright Books)

The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, Angela Slatter (Tartarus Press)

Black-Winged Angels, Angela Slatter (Ticonderoga Publications)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Kisses by Clockwork, Liz Grzyb (Ed) (Ticonderoga Publications)

Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories, Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios (Eds), (Twelfth Planet Press) – WINNER

Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction, Dominica Malcolm (Ed) (Solarwyrm Press)

Reach for Infinity, Jonathan Strahan (Ed) (Solaris Books)

Fearsome Magics, Jonathan Strahan (Ed) (Solaris Books)

Phantazein, Tehani Wessely (Ed) ( FableCroft Publishing)

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL/ILLUSTRATED WORK

Left Hand Path #1, Jason Franks & Paul Abstruse (Winter City Productions)

Awkwood, Jase Harper (Milk Shadow Books)

“A Small Wild Magic”, Kathleen Jennings (Monstrous Affections, Candlewick Press)

Mr Unpronounceable and the Sect of the Bleeding Eye, Tim Molloy (Milk Shadow Books) – WINNER

The Game, Shane W Smith (Deeper Meanings Publishing)

In addition to the category winners, we also congratulate the Night Terrace team for taking out the Convenors’ Award for Excellence. 

Well done to all the winners, and to every finalist for their wonderful work.

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One week to go

Posted on April 4, 2015 by aaconvenor

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The trophies are here. The winners announcements are in the envelopes, ready to be revealed. The slideshow is done.

In short – with seven days until the ceremony, we’re ready to go!

Online sales of tickets close at 12pm on Saturday 11 April. You’ll be able to buy at the door if you miss out.

Hope to see you all at University House, Canberra, 7pm next Saturday for the 2014 Aurealis Awards

Buy your tickets here.

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Mid-90s come to life!

Posted on March 30, 2015 by aaconvenor

AurealisLogo

Here’s the fantastic logo for this year designed by the talented Amanda Rainey.

Wait until you see the cover of the awards book! Oh, and by the way, you need to be there to see the cover.

Get your tickets here.

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