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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Aurealis Award For Best Horror Novel

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 November of the prior year and 31 October 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 may declare a "no award" if there is unanimous agreement that none of the nominees are worthy. 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 horror novel category, as well as novels that have received honourable mentions or have been highly commended. Since 2005, honourable mentions and high commendations have been awarded intermittently. Kim Wilkins has won the award three times, while two people have won the award twice - Kirstyn McDermott and Kaaron Warren. Wilkins holds the record for most nominations, with five. Greig Beck, Stephen Dedman, and Jason Nahrung share the record for most nominations without winning, each having been nominated twice.

Winners and nominees

In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the book's eligibility; the ceremonies are always held the following year. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature" article. Entries with a yellow background have won the award; those with a white background are the nominees on the short-list.

  *   Winners and joint winners
  *   Nominees on the shortlist

Year Author Novel Publisher Ref
1995 Terry Dowling* An Intimate Knowledge of the Night Aphelion Publications
Venero Armanno My Beautiful Friend Arrow Books
Carmel Bird The White Garden UQP
David Brooks The House of Balthus Allen & Unwin
Justine Ettler The River Ophelia Picador
1996 No award given
1997 Kim Wilkins* The Infernal Random House
Stephen Dedman The Art of Arrow Cutting Tor Books
Richard Harland The Dark Edge Pan Macmillan
Emma Tom Dead Set Random House
1998 No award given
1999 Christine Harris* Foreign Devil Random House
Victor Kelleher Into the Dark Viking Press
Victor Kelleher The Ivory Trail Viking Press
P. Scot-Bernard Deadly Sister Love HarperCollins
2000 Kim Wilkins* The Resurrectionists Voyager Books
Terry Dowling Blackwater Days Eidolon Publications
2001 Kim Wilkins* Angel of Ruin Voyager Books
Cameron Rogers The Music of Razors Penguin Books
2002 A. L. McCann* The White Body of Evening Flamingo
Alison Croggon The Gift Penguin Books
Louise Cusack Daughter of the Dark Simon & Schuster
Stephen Dedman Shadows Bite Tor Books
2003 Victor Kelleher* Born of the Sea Viking Press
Anthony O'Neill The Lamplighter HarperCollins
Kim Wilkins The Autumn Castle Voyager Books
2004 Richard Harland* The Black Crusade Chimaera Publications
Josephine Pennicott Fire in the Shell Simon & Schuster
Kim Wilkins Giants of the Frost Voyager Books
2005 No award given
2006 Will Elliott* The Pilo Family Circus ABC Books
Edwina Grey* Prismatic Lothian Books
Martin Livings Carnies Lothian Books
Brett McBean The Mother Lothian Books
2007 Susan Parisi* Blood of Dreams Viking Press
Uncontested
2008 John Harwood* The Seance Jonathan Cape
Jack Dann The Economy of Light PS Publishing
Nick Gadd Ghostlines Scribe Publications
2009 Honey Brown* Red Queen Penguin Books
Peter Ball Horn Twelfth Planet Press
Stephen M. Irwin The Dead Path Hachette
Tracey O'Hara Night's Cold Kiss HarperCollins
Kaaron Warren Slights Angry Robot Books
2010 Kirstyn McDermott* Madigan Mine Pan MacMillan
Jason Fischer After the World: Gravesend Black House Comics
Trent Jamieson Death Most Definite Orbit Books
2011 No award given
Stephen M. Irwin The Broken Ones Hachette
Trent Jamieson The Business of Death Hachette
2012 Kirstyn McDermott* Perfections Xoum
Jason Franks Bloody Waters Possible Press
Jason Nahrung Blood and Dust Xoum
Jason Nahrung Salvage Twelfth Planet Press
2013 Allyse Near* Fairytales for Wilde Girls Random House Australia
Lee Battersby The Marching Dead Angry Robot Books
Greig Beck The First Bird Momentum
Dirk Flinthart Path Of Night FableCroft Publishing
2014 Justine Larbalestier* Razorhurst Allen & Unwin
Alan Baxter Obsidian HarperVoyager
Greig Beck Book of the Dead Momentum
2015 Trent Jamieson* Day Boy Text Publishing
Uncontested
2016 Kaaron Warren* The Grief Hole IFWG Publishing Australia
Kenneth Cook Fear is the Rider Text Publishing
Justine Larbalestier My Sister Rosa Allen & Unwin
2017 Lois Murphy* Soon Transit Lounge
J. S. Breukelaar Aletheia Crystal Lake Publishing
Maria Lewis Who's Afraid Too? Hachette Australia
2018 Kaaron Warren* Tide of Stone Omnium Gatherum
Shirley Barrett The Bus on Thursday Allen & Unwin
Criag Cormick Years of the Wolf IFWG Publishing Australia
2019 Andrew McGahan* The Rich Man's House Allen & Unwin
Brian Craddock Chuwa: The Rat-People of Lahore Broken Puppet Books
Andrew Cull Remains IFWG Publishing Australia
Simon Haynes A Riddle in Bronze Bowman Press
Deborah Sheldon Body Farm Z Severed Press
2020 Ellie Marney* None Shall Sleep Allen & Unwin
Daniel de Lorne Soul Survivor Scarlo Media
Simon Haynes An Enigma in Silver Bowman Press
Claire McKenna Monstrous Heart HarperVoyager
Marty Young Gutterbreed Eclectic Trio Press
2021 Ben Pienaar* Holly and the Nobodies HellBound Books Publishing
Jennifer Mills The Airways Picador Australia
J. S. Breukelaar The Bridge Meerkat Press
Matthew R. Davis Midnight in the Chapel of Love JournalStone
Jason Fischer Papa Lucy & The Boneman Outland Entertainment
2022 Trent Jamieson* The Stone Road Erewhon
Alan Baxter Sallow Bend Cemetery Dance
Robert Hood Scavengers Clan Destine Press
Kathryn Hore The Stranger Allen & Unwin
Angela Slatter Path of Thorns Titan
2023 S. E Tolsen* Bunny Pan Macmillan Australia
Graham Akhurst Borderland UWA Publishing
Deborah Sheldon Cretaceous Canyon Severed
Maria Lewis The Graveyard Shift Datura Books
Ellie Marney Some Shall Break Allen & Unwin
Katya de Becerra When Ghosts Call Us Home Macmillan

^ I Publisher names in parentheses indicate the imprint under which the book was published.

Honourable mentions and high commendations

In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the book's eligibility; the ceremonies are always held the following year. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature" article. Entries with a grey background have been noted as highly commended; those with a white background have received honourable mentions.

  *   Highly commended
  *   Honourable mentions

Year Author(s) Novel Publisher Ref
2005 J. C. Burke* Nine Letters Long Random House
2007 Keri Arthur Dangerous Games Piatkus
David Conyers & John Sunseri The Spiraling Worm Chaosium
Jason Nahrung The Darkness Within Hachette Livre
2011 Stephen M. Irwin The Broken Ones Hachette
Trent Jamieson The Business of Death Hachette

See also

  • Ditmar Award, an Australian science fiction award established in 1969

References

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