Yay!!!! The 2012 Aurealis Awards finalists have been announced! These awards, which were established in 1995 by the publishers of Aurealis magazine and are the premier awards for Australian speculative fiction, aim to highlight the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers.
2012 saw almost 750 entries across 13 categories, which include Science Fiction, Fantasy, Youth, Horror, Children’s Fiction. Each category is divided further into novels and short fiction. Awards are also given to the best anthology and collection, and best illustrated work or graphic novel. (www.aurealisawards.com).
There are some amazing titles in the shortlist, and I am so excited to see that it includes two of my favourite reads for 2013 – Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan and Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. I braved an early morning train trip to Sydney to attend the 2013 NSW Writers’ Centre’s Speculative Fiction Festival last month and hear several authors of the who feature on this list- Kate Forsyth (who coordinated the festival), Juliet Marillier, Garth Nix, Kirstyn McDermott, John Flanagan and Jason Nahrung- talk about how they do their thing. Was that train trip worth it? In a word, YES!
And while we’re on the topic… we’re lucky enough to have Kate Forsyth herself visiting Nowra Library next month. Our Morning Tea with Kate Forsyth will take place on May 1st here at Nowra Library and is sure to be a fascinating session with one of Australia’s top fantasy authors. Copies of Kate’s books, including her newest work, The Wild Girl, will be available for purchase. You can contact the library on 4429 3710 or Sharpe@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au to book your place. – Kelly.
The 2012 Aurealis Awards Finalists
FANTASY NOVEL
Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan
Flame of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
Winter Be My Shield by Jo Spurrier
FANTASY SHORT STORY
“Sanaa’s Army” by Joanne Anderton in Bloodstones
“The Stone Witch” by Isobelle Carmody in Under My Hat
“First They Came” by Deborah Kalin in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 55
“Bajazzle” by Margo Lanagan in Cracklescape
“The Isles of the Sun” by Margo Lanagan in Cracklescape
SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
Suited by Jo Anderton
The Last City by Nina D’Aleo
And All The Stars by Andrea K Host
The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
“Visitors” by James Bradley in Review of Australian Fiction
“Significant Dust” by Margo Lanagan in Cracklescape
“Beyond Winter’s Shadow” by Greg Mellor in Wild Chrome
“The Trouble with Memes” by Greg Mellor in WildChrome
“The Lighthouse Keepers’ Club” by Kaaron Warren in Exotic Gothic 4
HORROR NOVEL
Bloody Waters by Jason Franks
Perfections by Kirstyn McDermott
Blood and Dust by Jason Nahrung
Salvage by Jason Nahrung
HORROR SHORT STORY
“Sanaa’s Army” by Joanne Anderton in Bloodstones
“Elyora” by Jodi Cleghorn in RabbitHole Special Issue Review of Australian Fiction
“To Wish Upon a Clockwork Heart” by Felicity Dowker in Bread and Circuses
“Escena de un Asesinato” by Robert Hood in Exotic Gothic 4
“Sky” by Kaaron Warren in Through Splintered Walls
YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Dead, Actually by Kaz Delaney
And All The Stars by Andrea K. Host
The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan
Into That Forest by Louis Nowra
YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY
“Stilled Lifes x 11” by Justin D’Ath in Trust Me Too
“The Wisdom of the Ants” by Thoraiya Dyer in Clarkesworld
“Rats” by Jack Heath in Trust Me Too
“The Statues of Melbourne” by Jack Nicholls in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 56
“The Worry Man” by Adrienne Tam
CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)
Brotherband: The Hunters by John Flanagan
Princess Betony and the Unicorn by Pamela Freeman
The Silver Door by Emily Rodda
Irina the Wolf Queen by Leah Swann
CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)
Little Elephants by Graeme Base
The Boy Who Grew Into a Tree by Gary Crew and Ross Watkins (illustrator)
In the Beech Forest by Gary Crew and Den Scheer (illustrator)
Inside the World of Tom Roberts by Mark Wilson
ILLUSTRATED BOOK / GRAPHIC NOVEL
Blue by Pat Grant
It Shines and Shakes and Laughs by Tim Molloy
Changing Ways #2 by Justin Randall
ANTHOLOGY
The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2011 edited by Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene
Bloodstones edited by Amanda Pillar
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume 6 edited by Jonathan Strahan
Under My Hat edited by Jonathan Strahan
Edge of Infinity edited by Jonathan Strahan
COLLECTION
That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote by K. J. Bishop
Metro Winds by Isobelle Carmody
Midnight and Moonshine by Lisa L. Hannett & Angela Slatter
Living With the Dead by Martin Livings
Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren
The winners of the 2012 Aurealis Awards and the Peter McNamara Convenors Award will be revealed at a gala ceremony on the evening of Saturday 18 May 2013 at The Independent Theatre in North Sydney.
The Readers' Haven 