The finalists for this year’s Aurealis Awards have been announced, and what a strong field it is! It is especially heartening to see some excellent books in the Horror Novel section.

Every year I find that, rather than just people I have met of worked with, more and more of the people on the list are genuine friends. That can make it hard to decide what I want to win in some of the categories, but obviously it is a nice problem to have!

While it may sound like a cliché, looking at the great range of finalists, with such diversity in everything from gender to publication models, there is no doubt that no matter the result, Aussie spec fic is the winner.

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

FANTASY SHORT STORY
Sanaa’s Army by Joanne Anderton (Bloodstones, Ticonderoga Publications)
The Stone Witch by Isobelle Carmody (Under My Hat, Random House)
First They Came by Deborah Kalin (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 55)
Bajazzle by Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape, Twelfth Planet Press)
The Isles of the Sun by Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape, Twelfth Planet Press)

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

SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
Visitors by James Bradley (Review of Australian Fiction)
Significant Dust by Margo Lanagan (Cracklescape, Twelfth Planet Press)
Beyond Winter’s Shadow by Greg Mellor (Wild Chrome, Ticonderoga Publications)
The Trouble with Memes by Greg Mellor (Wild Chrome, Ticonderoga Publications)
The Lighthouse Keepers’ Club by Kaaron Warren (Exotic Gothic 4, PS Publishing)

HORROR NOVEL
Bloody Waters by Jason Franks (Possible Press)
Perfections by Kirstyn McDermott (Xoum)
Blood and Dust by Jason Nahrung (Xoum)
Salvage by Jason Nahrung (Twelfth Planet Press)

HORROR SHORT STORY
Sanaa’s Army by Joanne Anderton (Bloodstones, Ticonderoga Publications)
Elyora by Jodi Cleghorn (Rabbit Hole Special Issue, Review of Australian Fiction)
To Wish Upon a Clockwork Heart by Felicity Dowker (Bread and Circuses, Ticonderoga Publications)
Escena de un Asesinato by Robert Hood (Exotic Gothic 4, PS Publishing)
Sky by Kaaron Warren (Through Splintered Walls, Twelfth Planet Press)

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

YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY
Stilled Lifes x 11 by Justin D’Ath (Trust Me Too, Ford Street Publishing)
The Wisdom of the Ants by Thoraiya Dyer (Clarkesworld)
Rats by Jack Heath (Trust Me Too, Ford Street Publishing)
The Statues of Melbourne by Jack Nicholls (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 56)
The Worry Man by Adrienne Tam (self-­published)

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)
Brotherband: The Hunters by John Flanagan (Random House Australia)
Princess Betony and the Unicorn by Pamela Freeman (Walker Books)
The Silver Door by Emily Rodda (Scholastic)
Irina the Wolf Queen by Leah Swann (Xoum Publishing)

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)
Little Elephants by Graeme Base (author and illustrator) (Viking Penguin)
The Boy Who Grew Into a Tree by Gary Crew (author) and Ross Watkins (illustrator) (Penguin Group Australia)
In the Beech Forest by Gary Crew (author) and Den Scheer (illustrator) (Ford Street Publishing)
Inside the World of Tom Roberts by Mark Wilson (author and illustrator) (Lothian Children’s Books)

ILLUSTRATED BOOK / GRAPHIC NOVEL
Blue by Pat Grant (author and illustrator) (Top Shelf Comix)
It Shines and Shakes and Laughs by Tim Molloy (author and illustrator) (Milk Shadow Books) Changing Ways #2 by Justin Randall (author and illustrator) (Gestalt Publishing)

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

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

The full press release can be found here.