And Ditmar Makes Three!

Late last night the 2013 Ditmar ballot was announced and, considering that Perfections was unexpectedly rushed into a pre-Christmas publishing date late year, I’m honestly quite surprised to see it in the Best Novel category. I wasn’t sure enough people would have had time to read, let alone nominate, it but I’m delighted that they did.

Of course, being as the Ditmars are not separated into different categories by genre, this nomination is all Perfections is likely to see — because MARGO LANAGAN and KATE FORSYTH. Honestly, Sea Hearts and Bitter Greens were two of the best books I read last year and if one — or both! a tie! a most deserved tie! — of those doesn’t take away a Ditmar, I’ll be flabbergasted to the point of hat-eating. If you’ve not read them, you’re doing yourself a serious disservice.  This is the contemporary fantasy genre at its very, very best. Just being on a short list with those two novels is a high honour indeed.

(And, oh look, there’s Jason Nahrung as well. Salvage getting another nod this time, which I tremendously proud to see. But still, you know, LANAGAN and FORSYTH.)

I’m also very happy to see The Writer and the Critic on the ballot for Best Fan Publication in Any Medium. I really love doing this podcast and, after the recent Moving House Hiatus, we’re about to get back in the saddle. A new episode has already been recorded and will be up in the next couple of days.

The full ballot for the 2013 Ditmar Awards is as follows:

Best Novel:

• Sea Hearts, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
• Bitter Greens, Kate Forsyth (Random House Australia)
• Suited (The Veiled Worlds 2), Jo Anderton (Angry Robot)
• Salvage, Jason Nahrung (Twelfth Planet Press)
• Perfections, Kirstyn McDermott (Xoum)
• The Corpse-Rat King, Lee Battersby (Angry Robot)

Best Novella or Novelette

• ‘Flight 404′, Simon Petrie, in Flight 404/The Hunt for Red Leicester (Peggy Bright Books)
• ‘Significant Dust’, Margo Lanagan, in Cracklescape (Twelfth Planet Press)
• ‘Sky’, Kaaron Warren, in Through Splintered Walls (Twelfth Planet Press)

Best Short Story

• ‘Sanaa’s Army’, Joanne Anderton, in Bloodstones (Ticonderoga Publications)
• ‘The Wisdom of Ants’, Thoraiya Dyer, in Clarkesworld 75
• ‘The Bone Chime Song’, Joanne Anderton, in Light Touch Paper Stand Clear (Peggy Bright Books)
• ‘Oracle’s Tower’, Faith Mudge, in To Spin a Darker Stair (FableCroft Publishing)

Best Collected Work

• Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan, edited by Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)
• Epilogue, edited by Tehani Wessely (FableCroft Publishing)
• Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren, edited by Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)
• Light Touch Paper Stand Clear, edited by Edwina Harvey and Simon Petrie (Peggy Bright Books)
• Midnight and Moonshine by Lisa L. Hannett and Angela Slatter, edited by Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)
• The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2011, edited by Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene (Ticonderoga Publications)

Best Artwork

• Cover art, Nick Stathopoulos, for Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 56 (ASIM Collective)
• Cover art, Kathleen Jennings, for Midnight and Moonshine (Ticonderoga Publications)
• Illustrations, Adam Browne, for Pyrotechnicon (Coeur de Lion Publishing)
• Cover art and illustrations, Kathleen Jennings, for To Spin a Darker Stair (FableCroft Publishing)
• Cover art, Les Petersen, for Light Touch Paper Stand Clear (Peggy Bright Books)

Best Fan Writer

• Alex Pierce, for body of work including reviews in Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus
• Tansy Rayner Roberts, for body of work including reviews in Not If You Were The Last Short Story On Earth
• Grant Watson, for body of work including the ‘Who50′ series in The Angriest
• Sean Wright, for body of work including reviews in Adventures of a Bookonaut

Best Fan Artist

• Kathleen Jennings, for body of work including The Dalek Game and The Tamsyn Webb Sketchbook

Best Fan Publication in Any Medium

• The Writer and the Critic, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond
• Galactic Suburbia, Alisa Krasnostein, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Alex Pierce
• Antipodean SF, Ion Newcombe
• The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• Snapshot 2012, Alisa Krasnostein, Kathryn Linge, David McDonald, Helen Merrick, Ian Mond, Jason Nahrung et. al.
• Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus, Alisa Krasnostein, Tehani Wessely, et. al.
• Galactic Chat, Alisa Krasnostein, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Sean Wright

Best New Talent

• David McDonald
• Faith Mudge
• Steve Cameron
• Stacey Larner

William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review

• Alisa Krasnostein, Kathryn Linge, David McDonald, and Tehani Wessely, for review of Mira Grant’s Newsflesh, in ASIF
• Tansy Rayner Roberts, for ‘Historically Authentic Sexism in Fantasy. Let’s Unpack That.’, in tor.com
• David McDonald, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Tehani Wessely, for the ‘New Who in Conversation’ series
• Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene, for ‘The Year in Review’, in The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2011
• Rjurik Davidson, for ‘An Illusion in the Game for Survival’, a review of Reamde by Neal Stephenson, in The Age

∞

The official Ditmar ballot paper, including postal address information, may be downloaded as a PDF format file.

Once voting opens, votes will be accepted via email to: ditmars@sf.org.au

However, if possible, please vote online at ditmars.sf.org.au/2013

Postal ballots will be distributed in the near future.

Voting for the Ditmar Award is conducted in accordance with the rules specified at http://wiki.sf.org.au/Ditmar_rules, and is open to members of Conflux 9 (including supporting members) and to members of Continuum 8 who were eligible to vote in the 2011 Award. Voting in all award categories is by the optional preferential system, and each eligible individual may vote only once. All ballots (including emailed ballots) should include the name and address of the voter. If you have questions regarding the ballot or voting procedure, please email: ditmars@sf.org.au.

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