2022 Aurealis Awards Judging Reports

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.

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)

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.

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)

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.

Best Horror Short Story Shortlist

“Nona Doesn't Dance” Aaron Dries (Cut to Care: A Collection of Little Hurts,
IFWG Publishing Australia)
“Lidless Eyes That See”, Geneve Flynn (From the Wasteland,
PS Publishing UK)
"They Call Me Mother", Geneve Flynn (Classic Monster Unleashed,
Crystal Lake Publishing and Black Spot Books
“Dread Circus”, Pamela Jeffs (That is TOO Wrong!
An Anthology of Offbeat Horror Vol 2, Black Hart Publishers)
“The Hunt”, Martin Livings (Light Falling From a Long Dead Star,
self-published)
“Beach Memories”, Matt Tighe (The NoSleep Podcast, S18E06)

Best Fantasy Short Story

Panel members: Paula Boer (convenor), Natalie Haigh, Cary Lenehan, Allister Smith, Sarah Swarbrick

Number of entries: 142

Judging criteria: The stories were judged on originality, satisfaction of the ending, plot, characterisation, and quality of writing.

Overview of nominations: The many entries covered a broad range of topics, with quite a few judged down as they had stronger elements from genres other than fantasy. The quality of the writing varied, from lovely worldbuilding and character development to works that could have been improved with more depth or editing. The shortlisted pieces showed fresh ideas, were beautifully written, and lingered long after being read.

Best Fantasy Short Story Shortlist

“The Icecutter's Daughter”, Aiki Flinthart (The Art of Being Human,
FableCroft Publishing)
“Ashes”, Tania Fordwalker (Aurealis #151)
"Tastes like Home", Kiera Lesley (Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #86)
“Salon Faerie”, Tansy Rayner Roberts (self-published)
“Beautiful Horizon”, Steve Simpson (The Purpose of Reality: Solar,
Meerkat Press)
“The Past Laid Out On The Table”, Matt Tighe (Cast of Wonders 506)

Best Science Fiction Short Story

Panel members: Dianne De Bellis (convener), Nick Hartland, Amy Laurens, Mark Lingane, Wen Moore, Darren Nash

Number of entries: 119

Judging criteria: The panel looked for literary merit and originality as well as authentic character interaction. Any world-building or alien concepts needed to be clear and established quickly. The judges sought fully realised stories in the short form with some SF element.

Overview of nominations: The top group of 2022 submissions were of a high standard, several with a classic science fiction feel. Many were set in a post-apocalyptic world with themes of relationships and transformations. The panellists particularly noted those with originality, solid writing and good pacing. We also enjoyed subtlety and ‘poetic’ writing as long as the story retained clarity and authenticity. Many stories that did not make it into our top group nevertheless had original ideas and inventive writing. These writers are encouraged to continue to hone their craft and develop their storytelling mechanics. Creators are also encouraged to use the incredible amount of scientific knowledge available to speculate on futures and possibilities to fulfil the science fictional aspects of their story.