2022
Aurealis Awards
Judging Reports
Aurealis Awards
Judging Reports
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The Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild (CSFG) would like to thank all the judges for their work this year. With the challenging task of reading almost 800 entries across the 15 categories, each panel volunteers significant time and expertise for this job. It is impressive to see the incredible shortlists that reflect the vast diversity of speculative fiction being published each year in Australia, and it is all due to the work of these brilliant folks. Thank you for continuing to be part of the annual Aurealis Awards.
Best Children's Fiction
Panel members: Miffy Farquharson (convenor), Ky Garvey, Emily Meredith, Bron Swasbrick
Number of entries: 53
Judging criteria: A key aspect of judging this category is to consider the appeal to the stated target audience of children. Judges also consider word craft, originality, and speculative fiction concepts.
Overview of nominations: Children's fiction attracts entries suitable for a wide variety of ages - from pre-school to upper primary and this adds an additional level of complexity for the judging panel, which must make comparisons between picture books, illustrated, and text-only submissions. The panel employed robust and frank discussions whilst discussing the entries, and this has resulted in a very strong shortlist. The shortlist reflects an encouraging trend to write books with strong, thoughtful protagonists, and has a broad range of genres - from horror, through whimsy and adventure, to historical fiction. The panel are confident that the shortlist celebrates quality writing for young people in the speculative fiction arena and encourages those not shortlisted this year to continue writing, illustrating, and publishing.
Number of entries: 53
Judging criteria: A key aspect of judging this category is to consider the appeal to the stated target audience of children. Judges also consider word craft, originality, and speculative fiction concepts.
Overview of nominations: Children's fiction attracts entries suitable for a wide variety of ages - from pre-school to upper primary and this adds an additional level of complexity for the judging panel, which must make comparisons between picture books, illustrated, and text-only submissions. The panel employed robust and frank discussions whilst discussing the entries, and this has resulted in a very strong shortlist. The shortlist reflects an encouraging trend to write books with strong, thoughtful protagonists, and has a broad range of genres - from horror, through whimsy and adventure, to historical fiction. The panel are confident that the shortlist celebrates quality writing for young people in the speculative fiction arena and encourages those not shortlisted this year to continue writing, illustrating, and publishing.
Best Children's Fiction Shortlist
The Wintrish Girl, Melanie La'Brooy (University of Queensland Press)
Gus and the Starlight, Victoria Carless (HarperCollins Publishers)
The Wrath of the Woolington Wyrm, Karen Foxlee, illustrated by Freda Chiu (Allen & Unwin)
The Raven's Song, Zana Fraillon & Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)
The Goodbye Year, Emily Gale (Text Publishing)
Mars Awakens, H M Waugh (Allen & Unwin)
Gus and the Starlight, Victoria Carless (HarperCollins Publishers)
The Wrath of the Woolington Wyrm, Karen Foxlee, illustrated by Freda Chiu (Allen & Unwin)
The Raven's Song, Zana Fraillon & Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)
The Goodbye Year, Emily Gale (Text Publishing)
Mars Awakens, H M Waugh (Allen & Unwin)
Best Young Adult Short Story
Panel members: Debbie Berger, Jess Gately (convenor), Melanie Ifield, Samara Lo, Louise Nice
Number of entries: 40
Judging criteria: The YA Short Story this year was particularly interested in stories that were captivating in both concept and voice and which displayed a solid command of language and storytelling techniques.
Overview of nominations: The entries in this category were, for the most part, well-written with some truly out-of-the-box, new and eye-opening ways of telling both classic and new stories. Following the recent trends in Young Adult speculative fiction, there were a lot of fantasy submissions this year, but there were also some truly left-of-field and genre-bending entries too. Typical YA themes such as loss, friendship, and identity were widely explored, although some stories did so while also experimenting with unique structures to complement these themes. Many stories also reflected the growing trend for New Adult audiences to be classified as YA, reflecting the ongoing nature of these themes throughout our lifetimes. The final shortlist represents a truly excellent standard of storytelling and writing.
Number of entries: 40
Judging criteria: The YA Short Story this year was particularly interested in stories that were captivating in both concept and voice and which displayed a solid command of language and storytelling techniques.
Overview of nominations: The entries in this category were, for the most part, well-written with some truly out-of-the-box, new and eye-opening ways of telling both classic and new stories. Following the recent trends in Young Adult speculative fiction, there were a lot of fantasy submissions this year, but there were also some truly left-of-field and genre-bending entries too. Typical YA themes such as loss, friendship, and identity were widely explored, although some stories did so while also experimenting with unique structures to complement these themes. Many stories also reflected the growing trend for New Adult audiences to be classified as YA, reflecting the ongoing nature of these themes throughout our lifetimes. The final shortlist represents a truly excellent standard of storytelling and writing.
Best Young Adult Short Story Shortlist
"Forbidden Voices", E J Delaney (Cast of Wonders #510)
"Crone and the Girl", Pamela Jeffs (The Seasonals, Four Ink Press)
"Tastes like Home", Kiera Lesley (Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #86)
"Tornadoes, Grief and Poutine", Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga
(Augur Magazine Issue 5.2)
"Enter Elias Schmidt", Phoenix Raig (The New Mythic, Precipice Fiction)
"Witchy Ways", Tansy Rayner Roberts (Witchy Ways, self-published)
"Crone and the Girl", Pamela Jeffs (The Seasonals, Four Ink Press)
"Tastes like Home", Kiera Lesley (Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #86)
"Tornadoes, Grief and Poutine", Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga
(Augur Magazine Issue 5.2)
"Enter Elias Schmidt", Phoenix Raig (The New Mythic, Precipice Fiction)
"Witchy Ways", Tansy Rayner Roberts (Witchy Ways, self-published)
Best Horror Short Story
Panel members: Caitlin Chisholm (convenor), Charmaine Clancy, Roslyn Phillips, Marija Sijakovska, Christine Titheradge
Number of entries: 147
Judging criteria: Originality, creativity, conventions of the genre, literary merit and writing style.
Overview of nominations: The horror short story category had a large number of entries in 2022. This made deciding on a shortlist challenging at times as there were many great stories that demonstrated excellence in the field. The entries spanned a wide variety of subgenres and really showcased the variability of horror. There were also many entries that fit into multiple genres such as fantasy and science-fiction. The shortlist the panel decided on represents the variety of horror that Australia has to offer. It is full of well written, tight stories that pack a punch in their relatively short word counts.
Number of entries: 147
Judging criteria: Originality, creativity, conventions of the genre, literary merit and writing style.
Overview of nominations: The horror short story category had a large number of entries in 2022. This made deciding on a shortlist challenging at times as there were many great stories that demonstrated excellence in the field. The entries spanned a wide variety of subgenres and really showcased the variability of horror. There were also many entries that fit into multiple genres such as fantasy and science-fiction. The shortlist the panel decided on represents the variety of horror that Australia has to offer. It is full of well written, tight stories that pack a punch in their relatively short word counts.