Aurealis Awards Shortlists

The Aurealis Awards shortlists are out and I'm so delighted to see some of my favourite authors on the lists, including Glenda Larke and Juliet Marillier - and my Clarion South mate, Jason Fischer. (shortlisted in Best Fantasy Novella) is there, too.

It's especially exciting because Western Australia makes a good showing - Glenda Larke and Juliet Marillier (both shortlisted in Best Fantasy Fiction and also in the Sara Douglass Book Series Award section) are based here as is Meg McKinlay (Best Children's Fiction) and Stephanie Gunn, who is shortlisted twice (in the Best Fantasy Novella section for novellas in Ticonderoga Publications' Hear Me Roar and Bloodlines) is also local. As well, editor Jonathan Strahan has two anthologies shortlisted in the Best Anthology section.

Local publishers are also well represented with Fremantle Press, Ticonderoga Publishing, and Twelfth Planet Press all featuring. Both Ticonderoga Publications and Twelfth Planet are shortlisted numerous times in a number of different categories. Quite an achievement for these two small presses.

Congratulations to all who have shortlisted. You can see the complete list here and I don't know about you but I'm now heading off to read as many of these books as I can.

Edit: I have realised that I should have included Shaun Tan in the WA success stories since he was also shortlisted. I did think about it but somehow it slipped my mind when it came to writing the post.

2013 Aurealis Awards

Ooh, ooh, ooh, the list of Aurealis Awards finalists is out - and, yes, I know it came out about a week ago but, you know, life. I always love this list because it gives me a whole new lot of books to read that I might otherwise have missed out on. I've read some of the works shortlisted - Juliet Marillier's short story By Bone-light (in Prickle Moon, a collection of short stories by her published by Ticonderoga Publications) and one of my favourite reads in that collection, Lee Battersby's horror novel The Marching Dead (Angry Robot) and the anthology Dreaming of Djinn edited by Liz Grzyb (Ticonderoga Publications) - and thoroughly enjoyed them so I'll be looking for the others as well.

AWWC 2013: Prickle Moon - a story collection by Juliet Marillier

Prickle Moon (published by Ticonderoga Publications and released on April 4, 2013) is Juliet Marillier's first short story collection and it did not disappoint.

Oddly, although I have read all her novels and have never failed to be delighted by them, I had only ever read one of her short stories before. This is Twixt Firelight and Water, one of the stories in the collection. Especially interesting to those who have followed her Sevenwaters series, Twixt Firelight and Water fills in more of the story of the family of that world.

But Prickle Moon is not all set in the Sevenwaters world. This is a collection where the stories range widely. There is darkness but there is also romance, fairytales and humour.

Among the darker stories is the title story, Prickle Moon, which sees a woman asked to betray an unusual trust. Full of layers, at one point I had to put this story down because of the horror of the situation. It's one of the stand outs for me. Equally chilling are Angel of Death, where the reader is confronted with what happens as the RSPCA and volunteers raid a puppy farm and The Otherling, which deals with beliefs and consequences.

Retelling of fairy tales figures in much of Juliet Marillier's work and there's a fair sample of that here. I loved Poppy Seeds, and how it turns a traditional story on its head and while Let Down Your Hair may seem familiar as it starts out it certainly doesn't end that way. The traditional format of these two stories makes the contrast of By Bone Light more chilling. Although it has a modern, urban setting, its fairy tale roots are clear and its ending is very satisfying.

Among the romances in the collection are the historical Gift of Hope and, also historical but certainly less traditional, Letters From Robert, while there is a modern but different take on romance in Far Horizons.

There are other stories too - the funny Tough Love 3001 about a very unusual writers' workshop, Back and Beyond and Jack's Day, both about loss, Wraith, Level One, where a young wraith gets his first job, Juggling Silver, a sweet story of a community, and In Coed Celyddon, with its take on the Arthurian legend.

I thoroughly enjoyed Prickle Moon. Beautifully written, it should appeal to those who like their fantasy and romance rooted in reality.

Juliet Marillier's website is at www.julietmarillier.com where you will find details of her next books and she is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/juliet.marillier

Of Ditmars, Hugos, Stellas and Other Things.

Actually it's more awards than other things. They just keep coming - shortlists, winner lists and more.

These are the ones I've come across today - although I freely admit that some have been around for a while and I just haven't got to blogging about them. I'm linking to them on account of being too overwhelmed by other stuff right now to do much more.

The Australian Indie Book of the Year 2013 - winners were announced on 25 March.

The Stella Prize - shortlist out.

Ditmar Awards - shortlist open for voting.

Hugo Awards - shortlist out.

It's especially nice to see my Clarion South tutor, Margo Lanagan featuring in numerous places as well as yet another tutor, fellow Western Australian Lee Battersby, appearing on the Ditmar shortlist.

There are a pleasing number of other Western Australians on the various lists including editors Liz Grzyb, Alisa Krasnostein and Jonathan Strahan and publishers, Ticonderoga Publications and Twelfth Planet Press.

Congratulations to all winners and finalists.

Aurealis Awards Shortlist 2012

The shortlist for the 2012 Aurealis Awards has been released and the complete shortlist is available here.

The winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony in Sydney on May 18. I've read a number of the books and stories on the list and I have to say I do not envy the judges their task in having to choose  only one from some very fine work. Selecting a best from any section will not have been easy.

On a purely parochial basis, I'm delighted to see so many Western Australian residents figuring on it. Among them are Jonathan Strahan (three listings), Juliet Marillier, Liz Grzyb and Martin Livings as well as publishers Ticonderoga Publications and Twelfth Planet Press, both with multiple listings. I'm also delighted to see two of my Clarion South tutors, Margo Lanagan and Robert Hood.

Congratulations to all who have made it this far and good luck for the final selection.

Aurealis Award Winners 2011

The winners of the Aurealis Awards 2011were announced last night and it's exciting to see so many Western Australians featuring. They are for:

Young Adult Short Story:  Nation of the Night by Sue Isles  published in Nightsiders story collection (Twelfth Planet Press). The author and publisher are both Western Australian. This is a book I can highly recommend having just finished it. Sue Isles has created a believable post apocalyptic world where, having rejected evacuation to the wetter eastern seaboard cities, a stubborn group of individuals hang on to their home land despite it being devastated by climate change.

Collection: Bluegrass Symphony by South Australian Lisa L. Hannett and published by Western Australian publisher Ticonderoga Publications.

Horror Short Story: The Short Go: a Future in Eight Seconds by Lisa L. Hannett in Bluegrass Symphony (Ticonderoga Publications)

Fantasy Short Story: Fruit of the Pipal Tree by Thoraiya Dyer in After the Rain (FableCroft Publishing). At the time this anthology was published Fablecroft Publishing was WA based.

Peter McNamara Convenor's Award: Galactic Suburbia podcast: Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, (producer). Alisa Krasnostein founded Twelfth Planet Press in Western Australia.

It's also heartening to see that all the short fiction awards were published by small independent presses.

The complete list of winners can be found here.

Congratulations to all.

Locus 2011 Recommended Reading List

is up on the Locus On-line website.The list is put together by a consensus of the magazine's editors and reviewers. There's a strong field and I'm pleased to see among them a number of Australian authors, editors and publishers, including one of my Clarion South fellows, Peter M. Ball, who features twice. Three of our Clarion South tutors appear as well - Margo Lanagan, Kelly Link and Gardner Dozois. Congratulations to Western Australian publishers, Ticonderoga Publications and Twelfth Planet Press, too, on the list for story collections, and local editor, Jonathan Strahan.
Other Aussies on the list include Jo Anderton, Terry Dowling, Thoraiya Dyer, Greg Egan, Alison Goodman, Ian McHugh, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Lucy Sussex, Kaaron Warren and Kim Westwood. Congratulations to all.

Jason Fischer and Ticonderoga Publications

I'm truly excited that my Clarion South mate, Jason Fischer, is to have a collection of short stories, Everything is a Graveyard, to be published by Ticonderoga Publications in late 2013. The press release is here. Ticonderoga Publications has recently put out some outstanding anthologies and Jason should fit well into their list.

I've just been working my way through some of their books that I bought at Swancon. Heliotrope by Justina Robson was a fascinating compilation of stories. This author is well established as a novelist but this is her first collection of short stories. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Her stories stretch the imagination and that is always a good thing.

I've also finished Dead Red Heart, a collection of Australian vampire stories, edited by Russell B. Farr, and there are some great stories in there. Who'd ever have thought that the vampire could adapt so well to our harsh, sun-drenched continent. My fellow Egobooers, Joanna Fay and Carol Ryles, figure here. Then came More Scary Kisses, edited by Liz Gryzb, a collection of vampire romances, including two stories by fellow members of the KSP Speculative Fiction group, Annette Backshall and Carol Ryles (yes, she's in two books recently released by Ticonderoga). What sexy creatures these vampires are but it's not at all the way the original vampire stories portrayed them either.

On my list of still to be read is The Girl With No Hands by Angela Slatter, (she blogs here)and another writer whose work I very much enjoy.