Well, that year went fast! It doesn't seem that long since I wrote my last Aussie awards post. It also doesn't seem all that long since I sat, on the other side of the planet, refreshing Twitter over and over as each winner of the 2010 Aurealis Awards was announced. Awards season is a good time to find out what other Aussie sf writers have been doing (always lots), look back on what I've contributed (seems like very little in comparison – just one book: The Rogue).

The Aurealis Awards

The shortlist for the peer judged Aurealis Awards was released last week. Lots of very talented, hard working and dedicated people on that list. Back when I was a much faster reader I used to use the shortlist as a must-read guide to Aussie fantasy. (Now I give a wistful sigh and go back to my To-Read Bookcase.)

Here's the media release with details and the list of finalists.

The Ditmars

The other national Australian SF awards, the Ditmars, is now open for nominations. Like the Hugos, they are a popular vote style awards system linked to a convention. You must be "natural persons active in fandom, or from full or supporting members of Continuum 8, the 2012 Australian National SF Convention" to nominate. Supporting memberships are usually much cheaper than the full rate, allowing people who can't make it to the con and aren't involved in fandom to nominate, and the definition of being active in fandom isn't overly strict.

You can find more information about the convention and the awards, including the link to the nomination form, here.