I WON AN AUREALIS AWARD!

May 30, 2022

This post is going to be self-indulgent! The Aurealis Awards are Australia’s premiere genre fiction awards. Celebrating all forms of fantasy, science-fiction and horror, they’ve been around since 1995. It’s no lie to admit that ever since I started writing seriously, I’ve coveted one. They really are the pinnacle of peer-recognition outside of the obvious things like publications and book sales. The Aurealis Awards as good as it gets in Australia. They’re judged, so not a popularity award – they truly recognise the cream of SFFH every year. I’ve been incredibly lucky to be recognised as a finalist 11 times, across a range of categories. But I’d never won. Until now.

Back in March, the 2021 Aurealis Awards shortlists were announced and I was blown away to see my name three times. The Gulp was up for Best Collection and two stories from The Gulp – “Mother in Bloom” and “The Band Plays On” – were up for Best Fantasy Novella and Best Horror Novella respectively. (I’ll reprint the full list of finalists and winners at the end of this post.)

On Saturday, there was a big party down in Canberra and for the first time in three years we got to have an in-person awards ceremony. (Check out these fantastic photos from the awesome Cat Sparks.) It was so much fun to be among friends again. I honestly thought I had no chance of winning. Apart from the fact that I’ve become a little bit used to being an Aurealis Awards bridesmaid, the insane quality of work on the shortlists left me with no illusions.

I was fortunate enough to be asked to present the award for Best Science Fiction Short Story and Best Science Fiction Novella. That was a thrill. The announcement for Best Horror Novella came along and that went to “All The Long Way Down” by Alf Simpson. Then Best Fantasy Novella and that went to Bones Of The Sea by Amy Laurens. I’d had quite a few beers by the time legendary horror writer and my good mate, Kaaron Warren, stepped up to present Best Collection. So I honestly had a moment of dizziness and thought I might genuinely keel over when Kaaron read out my name! Looks at these photos – it gives me so much life to see how overjoyed Kaaron was that I won and I honestly couldn’t think of anyone better to receive my first Aurealis Award from:

(Photos by Cat Sparks)

This is one of the real pleasures of the Australian genre writing community – our genuine love for each other and our joy at each other’s successes. Thank you, Kaaron!

I was a blithering mess when I received the award and have no real recollection of what I said. I know I thanked my good mate Joanne Anderton, who did wonderful beta reading of this book. And I know I thanked my wife and kid for their tireless support of what I do. I don’t remember much else – beer and shock will do that to you. Hopefully I didn’t say anything too stupid.

I am so proud and pleased to have finally taken home the shiny here. Especially for this book. Writing The Gulp and The Fall was taking a chance of a kind. Putting them out independently was taking another risk. I am so happy with how well-received they’ve been, I was ecstatic to see The Gulp hit the preliminary ballot for the Stoker Awards, and now it’s won an Aurealis Award. Further proof of the advice we keep giving – write the stories you want to tell. Write what’s burning your heart and your soul, and it’ll find its mark.

Massive respect and thanks to Tehani Croft and all the Aurealis Awards team and judges. You lot are amazing. Thanks to the CSFG for hosting such a mega event. It was SO GOOD to be with friends again. And massive congratulations to all the finalists and winners. Here’s the full list, with the winners in bold.

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

The Boy Who Stepped Through Time, Anna Ciddor (Allen & Unwin)

Stellarphant, James Foley (Fremantle Press)

Dragon Skin, Karen Foxlee (Allen & Unwin)

The Curiosities, Zana Fraillon & Phil Lesnie (illustrator) (Hachette Australia)

Elsewhere Girls, Emily Gale & Nova Weetman (Text Publishing)

Barebum Billy, Nicholas Snelling (BAD DAD Publishing)

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL / ILLUSTRATED WORK

The Curiosities, Zana Fraillon & Phil Lesnie (illustrator) (Hachette Australia)

Treasure in the Lake, Jason Pamment (Allen & Unwin)

Mechanix, Ben Slabak & Edoardo Natalini (Cloud 9 Comix)

Killeroo: Semper Fidelis, Matthew Soall & Ignacio Di Meglio (illustrator) (OzComics)

BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

“The Woods Echo Back”, Tania Fordwalker (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #331)

“Don’t Look!”, Lisa Fuller (Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales, Wakefield Press)

“Of Slaves and Lions”, Pamela Jeffs (Stories of Survival, Deadset Press)

“Slaughterhouse Boys”, Emma Osborne (Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales, Wakefield Press)

“Way-bread Rising”, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Stories of Survival, Deadset Press)

“Hunger”, Marianna Shek (Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales, Wakefield Press)

BEST HORROR SHORT STORY

“Don’t Look!”, Lisa Fuller (Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales, Wakefield Press)  

“Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner”, Ephiny Gale (The Dread Machine 1.3)

“The House that Hungers”, Maria Lewis (Aurealis #146, Chimaera Publications)

“The Quiet Room”, Martin Livings (Midnight Echo #16, The Australasian Horror Writers Association)

“Sins of the Mother”, Tracie McBride (Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies, IFWG Publishing Australia)

“Mother Dandelion”, Antoinette Rydyr (Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies, IFWG Publishing Australia)

BEST HORROR NOVELLA

When the Cicadas Stop Singing, Zachary Ashford (Horrific Tales Press)

“The Band Plays On”, Alan Baxter (The Gulp, self-published)

“Hell’s Teeth”, Matthew R Davis (Haunted: An Anthology, Specul8 Publishing)

Cryptid Killers, Alister Hodge (Severed Press)

“All The Long Way Down”, Alf Simpson (Cthulhu Deep Down Under Volume 3, IFWG Publishing Australia)

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY

“Who Wants to be a Reaper”, Jane Brown (The Centropic Oracle)

“So-called Bin Chicken”, E J Delaney (Curiouser Magazine #2)

“All my Tuesdays”, Laura J Fitzwilson (Cicerone Journal Issue 5: Curious Worlds)

“Old Souls”, Aiki Flinthart (Relics, Wrecks & Ruins, CAT Press)

“The Woods Echo Back”, Tania Fordwalker (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #331)

“Frabjous”, Alexander Gibbs (Cicerone Journal Issue 5: Curious Worlds)

BEST FANTASY NOVELLA

“Mother in Bloom”, Alan Baxter (The Gulp, self-published)

“The Little One”, Rebecca Fraser (Coralesque and Other Tales to Disturb and Distract, IFWG Publishing Australia)

“Bones Of The Sea”, Amy Laurens (Inkprint Press)

“Echo and Narcissus”, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Sheep Might Fly podcast, self-published)

“The Scarab Children of Montague”, Suzanne J Willis (Falstaff Books)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

“He Leaps for the Stars, He Leaps for the Stars” Grace Chan (Clarkesworld #178)

“For Autumn”, Melissa Ferguson (Revolutions, Deadset Press)

“Honey and a Hanging”, Aiki Flinthart (Tribute, Black Hart Publishing)

“The Reunion”, Emily Fox (Nature: Futures)

“Relict: (noun) A Widow; a Thing Remaining From the Past”, Alison Goodman (Relics, Wrecks & Ruins, CAT Press)

“Legacy of the Species”, Pamela Jeffs, (The Terralight Collection, Four Ink Press)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA

“Access Denied”, Baden Chant (Aurealis #142, Chimaera Publications)

The Cruise to the End of the World, Craig Cormick (Merino Press)

“The Birdsong Fossil”, D K Mok (Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures, World Weaver Press)

“Problem Landing”, Sean Monaghan (Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact Mar/Apr)

“Preserved in Amber”, Samantha Murray (Clarkesworld #178)

“A Vast Silence”, T R Napper (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Nov/Dec)

BEST COLLECTION

The Gulp, Alan Baxter, (self-published)

Danged Black Thing, Eugen Bacon (Transit Lounge Publishing)

The Terralight Collection, Pamela Jeffs (Four Ink Press)

The Tallow-Wife & Other Tales, Angela Slatter (Tartarus Press)

Little Labyrinths: Collected Microfictions, Sean Williams (Brain Jar Press)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Who Sleuthed It?, Lindy Cameron (Ed.) (Clan Destine Press)

Relics, Wrecks & Ruins, Aiki Flinthart (Ed.), Lauren Elise Daniels & Geneve Flynn (assistant Eds.), CAT Press

Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales, Poppy Nwosu (Ed.) (Wakefield Press)

Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies, Deborah Sheldon (Ed.) (IFWG Publishing Australia)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Waking Romeo, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)

Aurora’s End, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

Terciel and Elinor, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)

Echo in the Memory, Cameron Nunn (Walker Books Australia)

Dirt Circus League, Maree Kimberley (Text Publishing)

It’s Not You, It’s Me, Gabrielle Williams (Allen & Unwin)

BEST HORROR NOVEL

The Bridge, J S Breukelaar (Meerkat Press)

Midnight in the Chapel of Love, Matthew R Davis (JournalStone Publishing)

Papa Lucy & The Boneman, Jason Fischer (Outland Entertainment)

The Airways, Jennifer Mills (Picador Australia)

Holly and the Nobodies, Ben Pienaar (Hellbound Books LLC)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL 

Supermums – And So It Begins, Meg Grace (self-published)

The Rose Daughter, Maria Lewis (Piatkus / Hachette / Little Brown)

A Marvellous Light, Freya Marske (Tor)

Dark Rise, C S Pacat (Allen & Unwin)

She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan (Mantle)

All the Murmuring Bones, Angela Slatter (Titan Books)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Waking Romeo, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)

The 22 Murders of Madison May, Max Barry (Hachette Australia)

Stealing Time, Rebecca Bowyer (Story Addict Publishing)

Papa Lucy & The Boneman, Jason Fischer (Outland Entertainment)

Aurora’s End, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

Deepwater King, Claire McKenna (HarperCollins Publishers)

SARA DOUGLASS BOOK SERIES AWARD

Lifespan of Starlight [Lifespan of Starlight (2015); Split Infinity (2016); Edge of Time (2018)], Thalia Kalkipsakis (Hardie Grant Egmont)

Elementals [Ice Wolves (2018); Scorch Dragons (2019); Battle Born (2020)], Amie Kaufman (HarperCollins)

Unearthed [Unearthed (2017); Undying (2018)], Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)

Lifelike [LIFEL1K3 (2018); DEV1AT3 (2019); TRUEL1F3 (2020)], Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

Winter [The Road to Winter (2016); Wilder Country (2017); Land of Fences (2019)], Mark Smith (Text Publishing)

Blood and Gold [Crown of Rowan (enovella, 2014); Daughters of the Storm (2014); Sisters of the Fire (2016); Queens of the Sea (2019)], Kim Wilkins (HarperCollins)

CONVENORS’ AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE – Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950-1985, Andrew Nette & Iain McIntyre (Eds.) (PM Press)

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