The Aurealis Awards are presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications and Queensland Writers Centre to published works in order to "recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy, horror writers". To qualify, a work must have been first published by an Australian citizen or permanent resident between 1 November of the prior year and 31 October of the corresponding year; the presentation ceremony is held the following year. It has grown from a small function of around 20 people to a two-day event attended by over 200 people.
Since their creation in 1995, awards have been given in various categories of speculative fiction. Categories currently include science fiction, fantasy, horror, speculative young adult fiction—with separate awards for novels and short fiction—collections, anthologies, illustrative works or graphic novels, children's books, and an award for excellence in speculative fiction. The awards have attracted the attention of publishers by setting down a benchmark in science fiction and fantasy. The continued sponsorship by publishers such as HarperCollins and Orbit has identified the award as an honour to be taken seriously.
The results are decided by a panel of judges from a list of submitted nominees; the long-list of nominees is reduced to a short-list of finalists. Ties can occur if the panel decides both entries show equal merit, however they are encouraged to choose a single winner. The judges may declare a "no award" if there is unanimous agreement that none of the nominees are worthy. The judges are selected from a public application process by the Award's management team.
This article lists all the short-list nominees and winners in the best horror novel category, as well as novels that have received honourable mentions or have been highly commended. Since 2005, honourable mentions and high commendations have been awarded intermittently. Kim Wilkins has won the award three times, while four people have won the award twice - Trent Jamieson, Kirstyn McDermott, Ben Pienaar, and Kaaron Warren. Wilkins holds the record for most nominations, with five. Deborah Sheldon has the record for most nominations without winning, having been nominated four times.
Winners and nominees In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the book's eligibility; the ceremonies are always held the following year. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature" article. Entries with a yellow background have won the award; those without a background are the nominees on the short-list.
Winners and joint winners Nominees on the shortlist
Year Author NovelPublisherRef * Aphelion Publications My Beautiful Friend Arrow Books UQP Allen & Unwin Picador * Random House Tor Books Pan Macmillan Dead Set Random House * Foreign Devil Random House Into the Dark Viking Press Viking Press Deadly Sister Love HarperCollins * Voyager Books Blackwater Days Eidolon Publications * Angel of Ruin Voyager Books Penguin Books * Flamingo Penguin Books Daughter of the Dark Simon & Schuster Shadows Bite Tor Books * Born of the Sea Viking Press HarperCollins Voyager Books * Chimaera Publications Fire in the Shell Simon & Schuster Giants of the Frost Voyager Books * ABC Books * Prismatic Lothian Books Carnies Lothian Books Lothian Books * Blood of Dreams Viking Press Uncontested * Jonathan Cape PS Publishing Ghostlines Scribe Publications * Red Queen Penguin Books Horn Twelfth Planet Press Hachette Night's Cold Kiss HarperCollins Slights Angry Robot Books * Madigan Mine Pan MacMillan After the World: Gravesend Black House Comics Death Most Definite Orbit Books HachetteHachette * Perfections Xoum Bloody Waters Possible Press Blood and Dust Xoum Salvage Twelfth Planet Press * Fairytales for Wilde Girls Random House Australia Angry Robot Books Momentum Path Of Night FableCroft Publishing * Razorhurst Allen & Unwin Obsidian HarperVoyager Book of the Dead Momentum * Day Boy Text Publishing Uncontested * IFWG Publishing Australia Fear is the Rider Text Publishing My Sister Rosa Allen & Unwin * Soon Transit Lounge Aletheia Crystal Lake Publishing Who's Afraid Too? Hachette Australia * Tide of Stone Omnium Gatherum Allen & Unwin Years of the Wolf IFWG Publishing Australia * Allen & Unwin Chuwa: The Rat-People of Lahore Broken Puppet Books Remains IFWG Publishing Australia Bowman Press Body Farm Z Severed Press *None Shall SleepAllen & UnwinSoul SurvivorScarlo MediaBowman PressMonstrous HeartHarperVoyagerGutterbreedEclectic Trio Press*Holly and the NobodiesHellBound Books PublishingMeerkat PressMidnight in the Chapel of LoveJournalStonePapa Lucy & The BonemanOutland EntertainmentPicador Australia*The Stone RoadErewhon Sallow BendCemetery DanceScavengersClan Destine PressThe StrangerAllen & UnwinPath of ThornsTitan*BunnyPan Macmillan Australia BorderlandUWA PublishingWhen Ghosts Call Us HomeMacmillanDatura BooksSome Shall BreakAllen & UnwinCretaceous CanyonSevered*Carve Your Soul to Pieces(self-published) RemedyPS PublishingRock Zombie(self-published)Slashic Horror PressJasper CliffFremantle PressBodily HarmUndertaker Books2025Orpheus NineHachetteThe FarmHachetteThis Stays Between UsPenguinSlashed BeautiesHQ FictionNightmare ReefSevered PressThe Crimson RoadTita I Publisher names in parentheses indicate the imprint under which the book was published.
Honourable mentions and high commendations In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the book's eligibility; the ceremonies are always held the following year. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature" article. Entries with a grey background have been noted as highly commended; those without a background have received honourable mentions.
Highly commended Honourable mentions
Year Author(s)NovelPublisherRef2005 * Nine Letters Long Random House 2007 Dangerous Games Piatkus & John Sunseri Chaosium Hachette Livre 2011 Hachette Hachette
See also Ditmar Award, an Australian science fiction award established in 1969
References
External links Aurealis Awards official site