The Aurealis Awards finalists for 2012 were announced overnight and I’m so happy and honoured to discover that my second book, Perfections, is in the running for Best Horror Novel.* As are two works by my very own, very clever husband, Jason Nahrung — Blood and Dust and Salvage. Rounding out the long form horror category is Bloody Waters by Melbourne author, artist and graphic novelist, Jason Franks. Yep, it’s me against All The Jasons.
The Aurealis list as a whole is actually one of the best I’ve seen in a while, with many works I’ve already read and loved making the cut, as well as others which continue to glare balefully at me from the To Be Read shelf. And, of course, there’s a whole bunch more I really want to get my hands on now, which goes to show the power of an award nomination. Interestingly, it’s also a very well-rounded list in terms of the market — there are inclusions from big publishers, small/boutique presses and digital publishers/imprints, as well as several self-published works, with publication originating both within Australia and overseas. All in all, it’s tremendously heartening to see such depth and scope being enjoyed by Australian speculative fiction.
The winners of the Aurealis Awards will be announced at ceremony hosted by SpecFaction in North Sydney on 18 May. Tickets are available at an early bird price of $30 until 31 March, after which the price goes up to $35. It will be a wonderful night, with much carousing and celebrating and catching up to be done. Please come along if you can, even if you’ve never been before and don’t know anyone. We’re a friendly and welcoming bunch, I promise!
Congratulations to all the 2012 Aurealis Award finalists:
FANTASY NOVEL
- Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth (Random House Australia)
- Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff (Tor UK)
- Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
- Flame of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)
- Winter Be My Shield by Jo Spurrier (HarperVoyager)
FANTASY SHORT STORY
- ‘Sanaa’s Army’ by Joanne Anderton (Bloodstones, Ticonderoga Publications)
- ‘The Stone Witch’ by Isobelle Carmody (Under My Hat, Random House)
- ‘First They Came’ by Deborah Kalin (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 55)
- ‘Bajazzle’ by Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape, Twelfth Planet Press)
- ‘The Isles of the Sun’ by Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape, Twelfth Planet Press)
SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
- Suited by Jo Anderton (Angry Robot)
- The Last City by Nina D’Aleo (Momentum)
- And All The Stars by Andrea K Host (self-published)
- The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina (Walker Books)
- Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)
- The Rook by Daniel O’Malley (Harper Collins)
SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
- ‘Visitors’ by James Bradley (Review of Australian Fiction)
- ‘Significant Dust’ by Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape, Twelfth Planet Press)
- ‘Beyond Winter’s Shadow’ by Greg Mellor (Wild Chrome, Ticonderoga Publications)
- ‘The Trouble with Memes’ by Greg Mellor (Wild Chrome, Ticonderoga Publications)
- ‘The Lighthouse Keepers’ Club’ by Kaaron Warren (Exotic Gothic 4, PS Publishing)
HORROR NOVEL
- Bloody Waters by Jason Franks (Possible Press)
- Perfections by Kirstyn McDermott (Xoum)
- Blood and Dust by Jason Nahrung (Xoum)
- Salvage by Jason Nahrung (Twelfth Planet Press)
HORROR SHORT STORY
- ‘Sanaa’s Army’ by Joanne Anderton (Bloodstones, Ticonderoga Publications)
- ‘Elyora’ by Jodi Cleghorn (Rabbit Hole Special Issue, Review of Australian Fiction)
- ‘To Wish Upon a Clockwork Heart’ by Felicity Dowker (Bread and Circuses, Ticonderoga Publications)
- ‘Escena de un Asesinato’ by Robert Hood (Exotic Gothic 4, PS Publishing)
- ‘Sky’ by Kaaron Warren (Through Splintered Walls, Twelfth Planet Press)
YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
- Dead, Actually by Kaz Delaney (Allen & Unwin)
- And All The Stars by Andrea K. Host (self-published)
- The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Amberlin Kwaymullina (Walker Books)
- Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
- Into That Forest by Louis Nowra (Allen & Unwin)
YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY
- ‘Stilled Lifes x 11’ by Justin D’Ath (Trust Me Too, Ford Street Publishing)
- ‘The Wisdom of the Ants’ by Thoraiya Dyer (Clarkesworld)
- ‘Rats’ by Jack Heath (Trust Me Too, Ford Street Publishing)
- ‘The Statues of Melbourne’ by Jack Nicholls (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 56)
- ‘The Worry Man’ by Adrienne Tam (self-published)
CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)
- Brotherband: The Hunters by John Flanagan (Random House Australia)
- Princess Betony and the Unicorn by Pamela Freeman (Walker Books)
- The Silver Door by Emily Rodda (Scholastic)
- Irina the Wolf Queen by Leah Swann (Xoum Publishing)
CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)
- Little Elephants by Graeme Base (author and illustrator) (Viking Penguin)
- The Boy Who Grew Into a Tree by Gary Crew (author) and Ross Watkins (illustrator) (Penguin Group Australia)
- In the Beech Forest by Gary Crew (author) and Den Scheer (illustrator) (Ford Street Publishing)
- Inside the World of Tom Roberts by Mark Wilson (author and illustrator) (Lothian Children’s Books)
ILLUSTRATED BOOK/GRAPHIC NOVEL
- Blue by Pat Grant (author and illustrator) (Top Shelf Comix)
- It Shines and Shakes and Laughs by Tim Molloy (author and illustrator) (Milk Shadow Books)
- Changing Ways #2 by Justin Randall (author and illustrator) (Gestalt Publishing)
ANTHOLOGY
- The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2011 edited by Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene (Ticonderoga Publications)
- Bloodstones edited by Amanda Pillar (Ticonderoga Publications)
- The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume 6 edited by Jonathan Strahan (Night Shade Books)
- Under My Hat edited by Jonathan Strahan (Random House)
- Edge of Infinity edited by Jonathan Strahan (Solaris Books)
COLLECTION
- That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote by K. J. Bishop (self-published)
- Metro Winds by Isobelle Carmody (Allen & Unwin)
- Midnight and Moonshine by Lisa L. Hannett and Angela Slatter (Ticonderoga Publications)
- Living With the Dead by Martin Livings (Dark Prints Press)
- Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren (Twelfth Planet Press)
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* Why yes, it appears that it does take an award nomination to rouse me from my post-relocation avoidance of the internet. I’ll try to be a bit more active around these parts from now on, but as I have a fairly gruelling — if mostly self-imposed — workload this year, I’m not making any promises!
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Kirstyn McDermott 
So unfair with you too pitted against one another, maybe needed to not release your works in the same year :D. Good luck to both of you though and I agree its a very good showing this year.
Thanks, Sean. Let’s just say that, if one of us does win, it will be an *interesting* plane trip home. ;-P
Congratulations Kirstyn. An excellent result.
-m
Congratulations, K, and how cool is it that you and Jason are pitted against each other? How many author couples can boast about that?