The Aurealis Awards are presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications and WASFF 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 January and 31 December 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 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 fantasy novella category. Alan Baxter and Tansy Rayner Roberts share the record for most nominations (3), while Jason Fischer, Stephanie Gunn, Nikky Lee, Kirstyn McDermott, and Angela Slatter follow, each having been nominated twice. This is as of the 2021 Awards, as the winners were announced in late May 2022.
Winners and nominees In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the story's eligibility; the ceremonies are always held the following year. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature" article. Entries with a blue background have won the award; those with a white background are the nominees on the short-list. If the short story was originally published in a book with other stories rather than by itself or in a magazine, the book title is included after the publisher's name.
Winners and joint winners Nominees on the shortlist
YearAuthor(s)NovellaPublisher or publicationRef * "Defy the Grey Kings" Beneath Ceaseless Skies (#180) "Lodloc and The Bear" coeur de lion (Dimension6) "Broken Glass" Ticonderoga Publications (Hear Me Roar) "" Ticonderoga Publications (Bloodlines) "Haunting Matilda" Horror Australis (Cthulhu: Deep Down Under) "Of Sorrow and Such" Tor.com * "Forfeit" (self-published) (The Towers, the moon) "Raven's First Flight" Cohesion Press (SNAFU: Black Ops) "By the Laws of Crab and Woman" Review of Australian Fiction (Vol 17, No 6) Seizure Press "Burnt Sugar" PS Publishing (Dreaming in the Dark) "Finnegan's Field" Tor.com * (self-published) PS Publishing "Remnants" coeur de lion (Dimension6 11) & Kim Wilkins Ticonderoga Publications "Braid" Review of Australian Fiction (Vol 24, No 1) Less Than Three Press * "" Penguin Random House Australia(The Book of Magic) "This Side of the Wall" Metaphorosis Magazine (January 2018) "Beautiful" Ticonderoga Publications (Aurum) Twelfth Planet Press "" (self-published)(Mnemo's Memory and Other Fantastic Tales) PS Publishing * "Scapes Made of Diamond" Interzone (#280) "Like Ripples on a Blank Shore" Meerkat Press (Cohesion: Stories) "" Andromeda Spaceways Magazine (#76) "Out of Darkness" Things in the Well (Tales of the Lost Vol 1) "To Hell and Back" Aurealis (#120)*"Dingo and Sister"Andromeda Spaceways Magazine (#78)"Generation Gap"Clarkesworld (#161)"By Touch and By Glance"Ticonderoga Publications (Songs for Dark Seasons)"Karkinos"Deadset Press (Cancer) (self-published)*Inkprint Press"Echo and Narcissus"Sheep Might FlyIFWG (Coralesque and Other Tales to Disturb and Distract)"Mother in Bloom"13th Dragon Books (The Gulp)Falstaff Books2022WinterbloomBrain Jar Press"The Ocean, the Lighthouse Keeper, and the Sunset"FableCroft PublishingHoveringLuna Press"Merry in Time"Beneath Ceaseless Skies #352"Among the Faded Woods"FableCroft PublishingThe Bone LanternPS Publishing2023Gate sinister(self-published)The leaves forgetAbsinthe Books"Hole World"Apex Magazine #141The wizard must be stopped!Stores Rule Press"A marked man"Grimdark Magazine #36A wicked blade(self-published)2024"Another Tide"Beneath Ceaseless Skies #420, Firkin Press"Doors"Don't Forget to Shut the Gate, Northshore PressTalon MarkedDeadset Press"A Daredevil Duchess’s Guide to Castle Hauntings"Castle of Secrets (self-published)Hotel Charybdis(self-published)"The Good Old Days"Uncertainties, Swan River Press2025Cinder HousePan MacmillanHol(l)o(w)metabolismWhimsy and Metaphor EnterprisesParasitic Omens(self-published)Trickster TalesBrigid's Gate Press"Crown Tourney"Crown Tourney: Ten Tales of Deadly Damsels, Cursed Castles and Edged Weapons (self-published)
See also Ditmar Award, an Australian science fiction award established in 1969
References
External links Aurealis Awards