2012 Aurealis Awards Finalists

Finalists have been announced for the 2012 Aurealis Awards, honoring SF, fantasy, and horror by Australians:

Best Science Fiction Novel

• Suited, Jo Anderton (Angry Robot)
• The Last City, Nina D’Aleo (Momentum)
• And All The Stars, Andrea K. Host (self-published)
• The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, Ambelin Kwaymullina (Walker)
• A Confusion of Princes, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)
• The Rook, Daniel O’Malley (Harper Collins)

Best Science Fiction Short Story

• “Visitors”, James Bradley (Review of Australian Fiction)
• “Significant Dust”, Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape)
• “Beyond Winter’s Shadow”, Greg Mellor (Wild Chrome)
• “The Trouble with Memes”, Greg Mellor (Wild Chrome)
• “The Lighthouse Keepers’ Club”, Kaaron Warren (Exotic Gothic 4)

Best Fantasy Novel

• Bitter Greens, Kate Forsyth (Random House Australia)
• Stormdancer, Jay Kristoff (Tor UK)
• Sea Hearts, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
• Flame of Sevenwaters, Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)
• Winter Be My Shield, Jo Spurrier (Harper Voyager)

Best Fantasy Short Story

• “Sanaa’s Army”, Joanne Anderton (Bloodstones)
• “The Stone Witch”, Isobelle Carmody (Under My Hat)
• “First They Came”, Deborah Kalin (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 55)
• “Bajazzel”, Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape)
• “The Isles of the Sun”, Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape)

Best Horror Novel

• Bloody Waters, Jason Franks (Possible Press)
• Perfections, Kirstyn McDermott (Xoum)
• Blood and Dust, Jason Nahrung (Xoum)
• Salvage, Jason Nahrung (Twelfth Planet)

Best Horror Short Story

• “Sanaa’s Army”, Joanne Anderton (Bloodstones)
• “Elyora”, Jodi Cleghorn (Review of Australian Fiction)
• “To Wish Upon a Clockwork Heart”, Felicity Dowker (Bread and Circuses)
• “Escena de un Asesinato”, Robert Hood (Exotic Gothic 4)
• “Sky”, Kaaron Warren (Through Splintered Walls)

Best Young Adult Novel

• Dead, Actually, Kaz Delaney (Allen & Unwin)
• And All The Stars, Andrea K. Host (self-published)
• The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, Amberlin Kwaymullina (Walker)
• Sea Hearts, Margo Lanaga (Allen & Unwin)
• Into That Forest, Louis Nowra (Allen & Unwin)

Young Adult Short Story

• “Stilled Lifes x 11”, Justin D’Ath (Trust Me Too)
• “The Wisdom of Ants”, Thoraiya Dyer (Clarkesworld 12/12)
• “Rats”, Jack Heath (Trust Me Too)
• “The Statues of Melbourne”, Jack Nicholls (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 56)
• “The Worry Man”, Adrienne Tam (self-published)

Best Collection

• That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote, K.J. Bishop (self-published)
• Metro Winds, Isobelle Carmody (Allen & Unwin)
• Midnight and Moonshine, Lisa L. Hanett & Angela Slatter (Ticonderoga)
• Living With the Dead, Martin Livings (Dark Prints)
• Through Splintered Walls, Kaaron Warren (Twelfth Planet)

Best Anthology

• The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2011, Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene, eds. (Ticonderoga Publications)
• Bloodstones, Amanda Pillar, ed. (Ticonderoga)
• The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 6, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Night Shade)
• Under My Hat, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Random House)
• Edge of Infinity, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Solaris)

Best Children’s Fiction (told primarily through words)

• Brotherband: The Hunters, John Flanagan (Random House Australia)
• Princess Betony and the Unicorn, Pamela Freeman (Walker)
• The Silver Door, Emily Rodda (Scholastic)
• Irina the Wolf Queen, Leah Swann (Xoum)

Best Children’s Fiction (told primarily through pictures)

• Little Elephants, Graeme Base (author and illustrator) (Viking Penguin)
• The Boy Who Grew Into a Tree, Gary Crew (author) & Ross Watkins (illustrator) (Penguin Group Australia)
• In the Beech Forest, Gary Crew (author) & Den Scheer (illustrator) (Ford Street)
• Inside the World of Tom Roberts, Mark Wilson (author and illustrator) (Lothian Children’s Books)

Best Illustrated Book/Graphic Novel

• Blue, Pat Grant (author and illustrator) (Top Shelf Comix)
• It Shines and Shakes and Laughs, Tim Molloy (author and illustrator) (Milk Shadow)
• Changing Ways #2, Justin Randall (author and illustrator) (Gestalt)

Winners will be announced on May 18, 2013 at the annual Aurealis Awards ceremony at the Independent Theatre in North Sydney, Australia. Details at the Aurealis Awards website.