Finalists and Winners
This is the third year of the Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction and my third year as convenor. We have stepped up another level in terms of media profile and acceptance of the Awards, and Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror has been the winner. I actually lost count of the number of times during 1997 that the Aurealis Awards were mentioned in the country’s major newspapers. Covers of best-selling books by Sara Douglass and Jack Dann all proudly declare “Aurealis Award Winner”, demonstrating that the major publishers have recognised the value of the Awards.
Looking at the results given below, it appears that 1997 was Damien Broderick’s year with four short listings including two in the highly competitive Best Science Fiction Novel category. The other stand out performance is Kim Wilkins’ The Infernal (Random House) which would have to be on everyone’s must read list after winning both the Best Fantasy Novel and Best Horror Novel categories.
As in previous year’s the judges on the four panels have done an outstanding job, and I would like to thank them on behalf of Chimaera for their hard work. Peter NcNamara and Stephen Higgins will be the conveners for 1998. Short Lists and Winners
Division A: Science Fiction
Best Novel
Winner: The White Abacus by Damien Broderick (Avon)
Zones by Damien Broderick and Rory Barnes (HarperCollins/Moonstone)
Winter by Simon Brown (HarperCollins)
Diaspora by Greg Egan (Millennium)
The Dark Edge by Richard Harland (Pan Macmillan)
Best Short Story
Winner: “Niagara Falling” by Janeen Webb and Jack Dann (Black Mist and Other Japanese Futures, DAW)
“Lucent Carbon” by Russell Blackford (Eidolon #25/26)
“Schrödinger’s Dog” by Damien Broderick (Eidolon #22/23)
“Reasons to be Cheerful” by Greg Egan (Interzone #118)
“Merlusine” by Lucy Sussex (The Horns of Elfland, ROC)
Judges: Bill Congreve, Peter McNamara, Jonathan Strahan
Division B: Fantasy
Best Novel
Winner: The Infernal by Kim Wilkins (Random House)
Darkfall: Book One of the Legendsong by Isobelle Carmody (Penguin)
Sinner: Book One of The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass (HarperCollins)
Dragonclaw: Book One of The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth (Random House)
Black Ice by Lucy Sussex (Hodder Headline)
Best Short Story
Winner: “Merlusine” by Lucy Sussex (The Horns of Elfland, ROC)“Jackie Chan” by Chris Gregory (Twins, Penguin)
“The River of Dreams” by Le Hang (Influence: Australian Voices, Anchor)
“Nicholas Afalling” by Jodie Kewley (Eidolon #24)
“Death at the Blue Elephant” by Janeen Webb (Enter…HQ, HarperCollins)
Judges: Van Ikin, Gayle Lovett, Peter McNamara
Division C: Horror
Best Novel
Winner: The Infernal by Kim Wilkins (Random House)
The Art of Arrow Cutting by Stephen Dedman (Tor)
The Dark Edge by Richard Harland (Pan Macmillan)
Dead Set by Emma Tom (Random House)
Best Short Story
Winner: “Jenny Come Play” by Terry Dowling (Eidolon #25/26)
“The Mullet That Screwed John West” by Bill Congreve (Epiphanies of Blood, MirrorDanse)
“Ten Minutes of Midnight” by J M Earle (Aurealis #18)
“The Freezing of Sarah” by Sean Williams (Bloodsongs #9)
Judges: Kirstyn McDermott, Bryce Stevens, Stephanie Tall
Division D: Young Adult
Best Novel
Joint Winner: Greylands by Isobelle Carmody (Penguin/Puffin)
Joint Winner: Eye to Eye by Catherine Jinks (Penguin/Puffin)
The Outcast by Patricia Bernard (HarperCollins/MoonStone)
Zones by Damien Broderick and Rory Barnes (HarperCollins/MoonStone)
Shade’s Children by Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)
Best Short Story
Winner: “ The Twist in the Tale” by Ruth Starke (Lothian)
“ The Peppercorn Tree” by Sheryl Gardner (Lothian)
“Hanging by a Thread” by Julie Ireland (Hanging by a Thread and Other Stories, HarperCollins)
Judges: Judith Craze, Johanne Knowles, Peter Nicholls