The Writer and the Critic: Episode 51

The latest episode of our podcast is now available for direct download and streaming from the website or via subscription from iTunes. Feedback is most welcome!

This month on The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, turn their attention to the 2015 Aurealis Awards which were announced in late March 2016. Sadly, there was no shortlist for the Best Horror Novel this year, although the category was won by Trent Jamieson’s most excellent Day Boy, a book which was previously discussed on this podcast. There is much lamenting and some gnashing of teeth as Kirstyn and Ian spend a little time talking about Australia horror fiction and the ramifications of juried awards like the Aurealis failing to produce a shortlist. You can read the judges’ report for the Best Horror Novel category, along with reports for all the others, in the Aurealis Awards program booklet.

The two books up for discussion this month are both Aurealis Award winners: In the Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker which won Best Young Adult Novel [24:50] and A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay [56:00] which took home the award for Best Children’s Fiction.

barker_mckinlay.jpg

If you’ve skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:29:20 for final remarks, including information for Patreon supporters about how to nominate and vote for the upcoming Patron’s Choice episode.

Next month, Kirstyn and Ian will endeavour to fill a couple of large holes in their literary lives by finally getting around to reading novels by two beloved and critically acclaimed authors who have somehow slipped by them. Don’t worry, they are currently hanging their heads in shame.

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

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21 May 2016
Categories: Books & Reading, Uncategorized . Tags: , , , , , . Author: Kirstyn McDermott . Comments: Comments Off on The Writer and the Critic: Episode 51

Aurealis Awards Shortlists

The Dark, Issue 10, November 2015The shortlists for the 2015 Aurealis Awards have been announced and I’m delighted to see that a story of mine has been included in the Best Horror Short Story category. “Self, Contained” was published in The Dark last year and you can read it online here.

The awards will be announced on Friday, 25 March 2016, during a ceremony at the Hotel Jen, Brisbane. More information can be found at the Aurealis website. I’ll be there, attending Contact 2016, so please say hello if you run into me either at the ceremony itself or during the rest of the convention. Hot tip: I’ll probably be spending a lot of time in the bar.

The shortlists as a whole make a might fine — if ambitious, considering the number of titles! — reading list. I will just say that I’m more than a little sad, and somewhat perplexed, about the lack of a shortlist for Best Horror Novel. The judges report for that category will make for interesting reading, methinks.


BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

  • A Week Without Tuesday, Angelica Banks (Allen & Unwin)
  • The Cut-Out, Jack Heath (Allen & Unwin)
  • A Single Stone, Meg McKinlay (Walker Books Australia)
  • Bella and the Wandering House, Meg McKinlay (Fremantle Press)
  • The Mapmaker Chronicles: Prisoner of the Black Hawk, A.L. Tait (Hachette Australia)


BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL / ILLUSTRATED WORK

  • The Undertaker Morton Stone Vol.1, Gary Chaloner, Ben Templesmith, and Ashley Wood (Gestalt)
  • The Diemenois, Jamie Clennett (Hunter Publishers)
  • Unmasked Vol.1: Going Straight is No Way to Die, Christian Read (Gestalt)
  • The Singing Bones, Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)
  • Fly the Colour Fantastica, various authors (Veriko Operative)


BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

  • “In Sheep’s Clothing”, Kimberly Gaal (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #61)
  • “The Nexus Tree”, Kimberly Gaal (The Never Never Land, CSFG)
  • “The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
  • “The Heart of the Labyrinth”, DK Mok (In Memory: A Tribute to Sir Terry Pratchett, Sorin Suciu)
  • “Blueblood”, Faith Mudge (Hear Me Roar, Ticonderoga Publications)
  • Welcome to Orphancorp, Marlee Jane Ward (Seizure)


BEST HORROR SHORT STORY

  • “Bullets”, Joanne Anderton (In Sunshine Bright and Darkness Deep, AHWA)
  • “Consorting with Filth”, Lisa L Hannett (Blurring the Line, Cohesion Press)
  • “Heirloom Pieces”, Lisa L Hannett (Apex Magazine, Apex Publications)
  • “The Briskwater Mare”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
  • “Breaking Windows”, Tracie McBride (Aurealis #84)
  • “Self, Contained”, Kirstyn McDermott (The Dark, TDM Press)


BEST HORROR NOVELLA

  • “Night Shift”, Dirk Flinthart (Striking Fire, FableCroft Publishing)
  • “The Cherry Crow Children of Haverny Wood”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
  • “The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
  • “Wages of Honey”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
  • “Sleepless”, Jay Kristoff (Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, Penguin)
  • “Ripper”, Angela Slatter (Horrorology, Jo Fletcher Books)


BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY

  • “The Giant’s Lady”, Rowena Cory Daniells (Legends 2, Newcon Press)
  • “The Jellyfish Collector”, Michelle Goldsmith (Review of Australian Fiction Vol. 13 Issue 6)
  • “A Shot of Salt Water”, Lisa L Hannett (The Dark, TDM Press)
  • “Almost Days”, DK Mok (Insert Title Here, FableCroft Publishing)
  • “Blueblood”, Faith Mudge (Hear Me Roar, Ticonderoga Publications)
  • “Husk and Sheaf”, Suzanne Willis (SQ Mag 22, IFWG Publishing Australia)


BEST FANTASY NOVELLA

  • “Lodloc and The Bear”, Steve Cameron (Dimension6, coeur de lion)
  • “Defy the Grey Kings”, Jason Fischer (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Firkin Press)
  • “Broken Glass”, Stephanie Gunn (Hear Me Roar, Ticonderoga Publications)
  • “The Flowers that Bloom Where Blood Touches the Earth”, Stephanie Gunn (Bloodlines, Ticonderoga Publications)
  • “Haunting Matilda”, Dmetri Kakmi (Cthulhu: Deep Down Under, Horror Australis)
  • “Of Sorrow and Such”, Angela Slatter (Tor.com)


BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

  • “2B”, Joanne Anderton (Insert Title Here, Fablecroft)
  • “The Marriage of the Corn King”, Claire McKenna (Cosmos)
  • “Alchemy and Ice”, Charlotte Nash (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #61)
  • “Witnessing”, Kaaron Warren (The Canary Press Story Magazine #6)
  • “All the Wrong Places”, Sean Williams (Meeting Infinity, Solaris)


BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA

  • “Blood and Ink”, Jack Bridges, Prizm Books
  • “The Molenstraat Music Festival”, Sean Monaghan (Asimov’s Science Fiction)
  • “By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers”, Garth Nix (Old Venus, Random House)


BEST COLLECTION

  • The Abandonment of Grace and Everything Thereafter, Shane Jiraiya Cummings (Brimstone Press)
  • Striking Fire, Dirk Flinthart (FableCroft Publishing)
  • Cherry Crow Children, Deborah Kalin (Twelfth Planet Press)
  • To Hold the Bridge, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)
  • The Fading, Carole Nomarhas (self-published)
  • The Finest Ass in the Universe, Anna Tambour (Ticonderoga Publications)


BEST ANTHOLOGY

  • Hear Me Roar, Liz Grzyb (ed.) (Ticonderoga Publications)
  • The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2014, Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene (eds.) (Ticonderoga Publications)
  • Bloodlines, Amanda Pillar (ed.) (Ticonderoga Publications)
  • Meeting Infinity, Jonathan Strahan (ed.), (Solaris)
  • The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 9, Jonathan Strahan (ed.) (Solaris)
  • Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction, Tehani Wessely (ed.) (FableCroft Publishing)


BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • In The Skin of a Monster, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)
  • Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, Alison Goodman (HarperCollins)
  • The Fire Sermon, Francesca Haig (HarperVoyager)
  • Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)
  • Illuminae, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
  • The Hush, Skye Melki-Wagner (Penguin Random House Australia)


BEST HORROR NOVEL
No Shortlist Released


BEST FANTASY NOVEL

  • In The Skin of a Monster, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)
  • Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, Alison Goodman (HarperCollins)
  • Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)
  • The Dagger’s Path, Glenda Larke (Hachette Australia)
  • Tower Of Thorns, Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)
  • Skin, Ilka Tampke (Text Publishing)


BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

  • Crossed, Evelyn Blackwell (self-published)
  • Clade, James Bradley (Penguin)
  • Illuminae, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
  • Their Fractured Light, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)
  • Renegade, Joel Shepherd (Kindle Direct)
  • Twinmaker: Fall, Sean Williams (Allen & Unwin)


SARA DOUGLASS BOOK SERIES AWARD

  • The Chronicles of King Rolen’s Kin [The King’s Bastard (2010), The Uncrowned King (2010), The Usurper (2010), The King’s Man (2012), King Breaker (2013)], Rowena Cory Daniells (Solaris Press)
  • The Watergivers [The Last Stormlord (2009), Stormlord Rising (2010), Stormlord’s Exile (2011)], Glenda Larke (HarperVoyager)
  • The Lumatere Chronicles [Finnikin of the Rock (2008), Froi of the Exiles (2011), Quintana of Charyn (2012)], Melina Marchetta (Penguin Random House)
  • Sevenwaters [Daughter of the Forest (2000), Son of the Shadows (2001), Child of the Prophecy (2002), Heir to Sevenwaters (2009), Seer of Sevenwaters (2011), Flame of Sevenwaters (2013)], Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)
  • The Laws of Magic [Blaze Of Glory (2007), Heart Of Gold (2007), Word Of Honour (2008),  Time Of Trial (2009), Moment Of Truth (2010), Hour Of Need (2011)], Michael Pryor (Random House Australia)
  • Creature Court [Power and Majesty (2010), Shattered City (2011), Reign of Beasts (2012)], Tansy Rayner Roberts (HarperVoyager)
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19 February 2016
Categories: Conventions/Festivals, Writing & Publishing . Tags: , . Author: Kirstyn McDermott . Comments: Comments Off on Aurealis Awards Shortlists

Aurealis Awards: Farewell Sydney, Hello Canberra!

Aurealis Award 2012News travels at light speed around the interwebs these days, so this post is most definitely old hat by now. But as I keep this blog as much for my own memory banks as for anything else these days, I’m very pleased to report that Perfections won the 2012 Aurealis Award for Best Horror Novel over the weekend. (Edgar’s not part of the trophy — he just likes getting his photo taken.) It was a wonderful night, filled with good friends, good wine and good cheer, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who played a part in bringing Perfections to publication. Not least of all my beloved, Jason Nahrung, who fed me chocolate by the family-size block and put up with almost never seeing me for the last month of writing. (You want to feel ambivalence in its purest form? Try winning an award for which your husband was also nominated and thus didn’t win. A most curious emotional state indeed.) The novel and I are still not really talking to each other — she tried to kill me, I tried to kill her; it’s a thing — but we can probably stand to be in the same room as one another now. With our backs pressed firmly to the wall, of course.

SpecFaction did a brilliant job of organising and hosting the Aurealis Awards in Sydney over the past three years and I’m sure it’s with a mixture of both sadness and relief that they pass the baton — the Conflux convention team will be bringing the Awards to Canberra from next year, with the ceremony tipped to be held in March. Cat Sparks was buzzing about with camera in hand and captured some wonderful images of the night, while Sean Wright has storyfied the Twitter feed.

The full list of winners are below. Congratulations to everyone, but especially to the indomitable and debonair Margo Lanagan who carried away no less than FOUR Aurealis Awards on the night — two for Sea Hearts and two for stories from Cracklescape, her Twelve Planets collection. An extraordinary achievement indeed and not one that will be easily — if ever — matched!

∞

Aurealis Awards Winners 2012

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION (TOLD PRIMARILY THROUGH WORDS)
Brotherband: The Hunters by John Flanagan(Random House)

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION (TOLD PRIMARILY THROUGH PICTURES)
Little Elephants by Graeme Base (Penguin)

BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY
‘The Wisdom of the Ants’ by Thoraiya Dyer (Clarkesworld)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
(Joint winners)
Dead, Actually by Kaz Delaney (Allen and Unwin)
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (Allen and Unwin)

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK/GRAPHIC NOVEL
Blue by Pat Grant (Giramondo)

BEST COLLECTION
That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote by KJ Bishop (self-published)

BEST ANTHOLOGY
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Six edited by Jonathan Strahan (Night Shade Books)

BEST HORROR SHORT STORY
‘Sky’ by Kaaron Warren (Through Splintered Walls, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST HORROR NOVEL
Perfections by Kirstyn McDermott (Xoum)

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY
‘Bajazzle’ by Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (Allen and Unwin)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
‘Significant Dust’ by Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley (HarperCollins)

PETER MCNAMARA CONVENORS’ AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Kate Eltham

KRIS HEMBURY ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD
Laura Goodin

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21 May 2013
Categories: Writing & Publishing . Tags: , . Author: Kirstyn McDermott . Comments: 1 Comment

Aurealis Awards Finalists Announced

Aurealis AwardsThe 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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21 March 2013
Categories: Writing & Publishing . Tags: , . Author: Kirstyn McDermott . Comments: 5 Comments

Aurealis Awards 2010

Aurealis Award 2010

The Aurealis Awards were announced in a glittery — and, at times, shoeless — ceremony in North Sydney on Saturday night and I was absolutely thrilled that Madigan Mine won Best Horror Novel. So thrilled that the just-in-case list of names I’d been intermittently rehearsing all day flew out of my head and the first thing I managed to say after been handed the award by the inimitable Kaaron Warren was, “Wow, it’s heavy.” In my defence, it is quite heavy. It’s also very, very pretty. 🙂

But I did manage to thank everyone I needed to thank and surprised myself by becoming just a wee bit emotional up there on the stage. I’m really, really grateful to receive this particular award. Madigan Mine took so long to go from initial spark of inspiration to final publication — a time which spanned some very difficult years in my life, personally and creatively — and to be awarded the Aurealis at the end of all that … well, I am so very happy right now.

It truly was a fantastic night. SpecFaction in Sydney have taken over the running of the Aurealis Award from Fantastic Queensland — who did an extraordinary job of hosting them up in Brisbane for the past six years — and it was wonderful to see the baton passed to such and enthusiastic and hard-working team. Nathan Burrage, Susan Wardle and the rest of the organising committee deserve huge kudos for putting on such a great show. Highlights included Garth Nix‘s dry humour as MC, Rob Hood‘s quirky visual presentation slideshows, the divine Angela Slatter accepting not one but two awards in bare feet, and Tansy Rayner Roberts gracious and moving  — and well-prepared! — acceptance speech upon receiving the award for Best Fantasy novel.

Wine was drunk, carousing was had, old friends were caught up with and new friends were made. It reminded me once again how special, close-knit and supportive the Australian speculative fiction community really is. As I possibly failed to articulate clearly enough in my acceptance speech, I feel proud and honoured and so very grateful to be able to count myself among their number.

As has become customary on such occasions, the multi-talented Cat Sparx was on hand with her trusty camera to provide a superb pictorial chronicle of the evening. The full set lives over on Flickr but I want to include this photo of myself and my beloved, Jason Nahrung, right here. (Thanks, Cat — you always take the best photos of us!)

Kirstyn McDermott and Jason Nahrung at 2010 Aurealis Awards

2010 AUREALIS AWARD WINNERS:

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)
• The Keepers, Lian Tanner, Allen & nwin

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)
• The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (writer) & Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Penguin Viking

YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY
• A Thousand Flowers, Margo Lanagan, Zombies and Unicorns, Allen & Unwin

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
• Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey, Allen & Unwin

ILLUSTRATED BOOK/ GRAPHIC NOVEL
• Changing Ways Book 1, Justin Randall, Gestalt Publishing

COLLECTION
• The Girl With No Hands, Angela Slatter, Ticonderoga Publications

ANTHOLOGY
• Wings of Fire, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S. Jablon, Night Shade Books

HORROR SHORT STORY
• The Fear, Richard Harland, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press

HORROR NOVEL
• Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott, Pan Macmillan

FANTASY SHORT STORY (joint winners)
• The February Dragon, LL Hannett & Angela Slatter, Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga Publications
• Yowie, Thoraiya Dyer, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press

FANTASY NOVEL
• Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)

SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
• The Heart of a Mouse, K.J. Bishop, Subterranean Online (Winter 2010)

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
• Transformation Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)

PETER MCNAMARA AWARD
• Helen Merrick

The full list of finalists can be found here. My sincere and heartfelt congratulations to everyone!

23 May 2011
Categories: Writing & Publishing . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Kirstyn McDermott . Comments: 9 Comments

Aurealis Awards Finalists Announced!

Aurealis Awards - Finalist

I flew to Newcastle this morning to visit family, and look what wonderful news greeted me once I got off the plane: the finalists for the 2010 Aurealis Awards have been announced and Madigan Mine made the ballot for Best Horror Novel! I’m incredibly excited!

And just cast your eye over the full list of finalists across all categories. It’s tremendous to see so many works that I’ve read and loved this past year show up on the ballot. Congratulations to everyone!

2010 AUREALIS AWARDS FINALISTS

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)

  • Grimsdon, Deborah Abela, Random House
  • Ranger’s Apprentice #9: Halt’s Peril, John Flanagan, Random House
  • The Vulture of Sommerset, Stephen M Giles, Pan Macmillan
  • The Keepers, Lian Tanner, Allen & Unwin
  • Haggis MacGregor and the Night of the Skull, Jen Storer & Gug Gordon, Aussie Nibbles (Penguin)

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)

  • Night School, Isobelle Carmody (writer) & Anne Spudvilas (illustrator), Penguin Viking
  • Magpie, Luke Davies (writer) & Inari Kiuru (illustrator), ABC Books (HarperCollins)
  • The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (writer) & Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Penguin Viking
  • Precious Little, Julie Hunt & Sue Moss (writers) & Gaye Chapman (illustrator), Allen & Unwin
  • The Cloudchasers, David Richardson (writer) & Steven Hunt (illustrator), ABC Books (HarperCollins)

YOUNG ADULT Short Story

  • Inksucker, Aidan Doyle, Worlds Next Door, Fablecroft Publishing
  • One Story, No Refunds, Dirk Flinthart, Shiny #6, Twelfth Planet Press
  • A Thousand Flowers, Margo Lanagan, Zombies Vs Unicorns, Allen & Unwin
  • Nine Times, Kaia Landelius & Tansy Rayner Roberts, Worlds Next Door, Fablecroft Publishing
  • An Ordinary Boy, Jen White, The Tangled Bank, Tangled Bank Press

YOUNG ADULT Novel

  • Merrow, Ananda Braxton-Smith, black dog books
  • Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey, Allen & Unwin
  • The Midnight Zoo, Sonya Hartnett, Penguin
  • The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher, Doug MacLeod, Penguin
  • Behemoth (Leviathan Trilogy Book Two), Scott Westerfeld, Penguin

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK/ GRAPHIC NOVEL

  • Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Nicki Greenberg, Allen & Unwin
  • EEEK!: Weird Australian Tales of Suspense, Jason Paulos et al, Black House Comics
  • Changing Ways Book 1, Justin Randall, Gestalt Publishing
  • Five Wounds: An Illustrated Novel, Jonathan Walker & Dan Hallett, Allen & Unwin
  • Horrors: Great Stories of Fear and Their Creators, Rocky Wood & Glenn Chadbourne, McFarlane & Co.

BEST COLLECTION

  • The Library of Forgotten Books, Rjurik Davidson, PS Publishing
  • Under Stones, Bob Franklin, Affirm Press Sourdough and Other Stories, Angela Slatter, Tartarus Press
  • The Girl With No Hands, Angela Slatter, Ticonderoga Publications
  • Dead Sea Fruit, Kaaron Warren, Ticonderoga Publications

BEST ANTHOLOGY

  • Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, edited by Angela Challis & Dr Marty Young, Brimstone Press
  • Sprawl, edited by Alisa Krasnostein, Twelfth Planet Press
  • Scenes from the Second Storey, edited by Amanda Pillar & Pete Kempshall, Morrigan Books
  • Godlike Machines, edited by Jonathan Strahan, SF Book Club
  • Wings of Fire, edited by Jonathan Strahan & Marianne S. Jablon, Night Shade Books

HORROR Short Story

  • Take the Free Tour, Bob Franklin, Under Stones, Affirm Press
  • Her Gallant Needs, Paul Haines, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press
  • The Fear, Richard Harland, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press
  • Wasting Matilda, Robert Hood, Zombie Apocalypse!, Constable & Robinson Ltd
  • Lollo, Martin Livings, Close Encounters of the Urban Kind, Apex Publishing

HORROR Novel

  • After the World: Gravesend, Jason Fischer, Black House Comics
  • Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson, Orbit (Hachette)
  • Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott, Pan Macmillan

FANTASY Short Story

  • The Duke of Vertumn’s Fingerling, Elizabeth Carroll, Strange Horizons
  • Yowie, Thoraiya Dyer, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press
  • The February Dragon, LL Hannett & Angela Slatter, Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga Publications
  • All the Clowns in Clowntown, Andrew McKiernan, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press
  • Sister, Sister, Angela Slatter, Strange Tales III, Tartarus Press

FANTASY Novel

  • The Silence of Medair, Andrea K Höst, self-published
  • Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson, Orbit (Hachette)
  • Stormlord Rising, Glenda Larke, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)
  • Heart’s Blood, Juliet Marillier, Pan Macmillan
  • Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)

SCIENCE FICTION Short Story

  • The Heart of a Mouse, K.J. Bishop, Subterranean Online (Winter 2010)
  • The Angaelian Apocalypse, Matthew Chrulew, The Company Articles Of Edward Teach/The Angaelian Apocalypse, Twelfth Planet Press
  • Border Crossing, Penelope Love, Belong, Ticonderoga Publications
    Interloper, Ian McHugh, Asimovs (Jan 2011)
  • Relentless Adaptations, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press

SCIENCE FICTION Novel

  • Song of Scarabaeous, Sara Creasy, EOS Books
  • Mirror Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)
  • Transformation Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)

The winners will be announced on Saturday, 21st May 2011, at the Aurealis Awards Gala Ceremony in the Independent Theatre, North Sydney. Please visit the website for further details. The ceremony is open to the public, so grab yourself a ticket and come along. It’s going to be an awesome night!

22 March 2011
Categories: Writing & Publishing . Tags: , . Author: Kirstyn McDermott . Comments: 4 Comments

Aurealis Awards Signed Spec Fic Auctions!

Some of the biggest names in Australian speculative fiction have cleared out their cupboards and the contents are being sold on eBay!

Where else can you buy an original print from Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld or a bundle of autographed fantasy, science fiction or horror novels from a huge list of Aussie authors including; Sara Douglass, Ian Irvine, Sean Williams and Shane Dix, Traci Harding, Karen Miller, Stephen Irwin, Nathan Burrage, Richard Harland, Marianne De Pierres, Angela Slatter, Kate Forsyth, Isabel Merlin, Sophie Masson, Jack Dann, Kaaron Warren, Shane Jiraiya Cummings and Kirstyn McDermott?

The autographed books are being auctioned off in five book bundles. For a complete description of the contents of each bundle or to bid on one of these great items refer to the list of eBay item numbers below and make sure you place your bid by 25 November 2010, when the auctions end.

Aurealis Awards

The auction is being held by SpecFaction NSW Inc., hosts of the 2010 Aurealis Awards. Funds raised will go towards holding the awards night and helping create a range of NSW based events and activities for readers and writers of speculative fiction. SpecFaction NSW is a not for profit group. For more information on the 2010 Aurealis Awards go to www.aurealisawards.com.

16 November 2010
Categories: Books & Reading . Tags: , . Author: Kirstyn McDermott . Comments: Comments Off on Aurealis Awards Signed Spec Fic Auctions!

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