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".[2] 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;[3] 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.[4]

Aurealis Award for Best Horror Novel
Awarded forExcellence in horror fiction novels
CountryAustralia
Presented byChimaera Publications
Continuum Foundation
First awarded1995
Currently held byBen Pienaar
WebsiteOfficial site

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.[2] 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.[5]

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.[2] Ties can occur if the panel decides both entries show equal merit, however they are encouraged to choose a single winner.[6] The judges may declare a "no award" if there is unanimous agreement that none of the nominees are worthy.[6] The judges are selected from a public application process by the Award's management team.[7]

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

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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 [8]
Venero Armanno My Beautiful Friend Arrow Books [8]
Carmel Bird The White Garden UQP
David Brooks The House of Balthus Allen & Unwin
Justine Ettler The River Ophelia Picador
1996 No award given [9]
1997 Kim Wilkins* The Infernal Random House [10]
Stephen Dedman The Art of Arrow Cutting Tor Books [10]
Richard Harland The Dark Edge Pan Macmillan
Emma Tom Dead Set Random House
1998 No award given [11]
1999 Christine Harris* Foreign Devil Random House [12]
Victor Kelleher Into the Dark Viking Press [12]
Victor Kelleher The Ivory Trail Viking Press
P. Scot-Bernard Deadly Sister Love HarperCollins
2000 Kim Wilkins* The Resurrectionists Voyager Books [13]
Terry Dowling Blackwater Days Eidolon Publications [13]
2001 Kim Wilkins* Angel of Ruin Voyager Books [14]
Cameron Rogers The Music of Razors Penguin Books [14]
2002 A. L. McCann* The White Body of Evening Flamingo [15]
Alison Croggon The Gift Penguin Books [15]
Louise Cusack Daughter of the Dark Simon & Schuster
Stephen Dedman Shadows Bite Tor Books
2003 Victor Kelleher* Born of the Sea Viking Press [16]
Anthony O'Neill The Lamplighter HarperCollins [16]
Kim Wilkins The Autumn Castle Voyager Books
2004 Richard Harland* The Black Crusade Chimaera Publications [17]
Josephine Pennicott Fire in the Shell Simon & Schuster [17]
Kim Wilkins Giants of the Frost Voyager Books
2005 No award given [18]
2006 Will Elliott* The Pilo Family Circus ABC Books [19]
Edwina Grey* Prismatic Lothian Books
Martin Livings Carnies Lothian Books [19]
Brett McBean The Mother Lothian Books
2007 Susan Parisi* Blood of Dreams Viking Press [20][21]
Uncontested [20]
2008 John Harwood* The Seance Jonathan Cape [22]
Jack Dann The Economy of Light PS Publishing [22]
Nick Gadd Ghostlines Scribe Publications
2009 Honey Brown* Red Queen Penguin Books [23]
Peter Ball Horn Twelfth Planet Press [23]
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 [24]
Jason Fischer After the World: Gravesend Black House Comics [25]
Trent Jamieson Death Most Definite Orbit Books
2011 No award given [26][27]
Stephen M. Irwin The Broken Ones Hachette
Trent Jamieson The Business of Death Hachette
2012 Kirstyn McDermott* Perfections Xoum [28]
Jason Franks Bloody Waters Possible Press [29]
Jason Nahrung Blood and Dust Xoum
Jason Nahrung Salvage Twelfth Planet Press
2013 Allyse Near* Fairytales for Wilde Girls Random House Australia [30][31]
Lee Battersby The Marching Dead Angry Robot Books [30]
Greig Beck The First Bird Momentum
Dirk Flinthart Path Of Night FableCroft Publishing
2014 Justine Larbalestier* Razorhurst Allen & Unwin [32]
Alan Baxter Obsidian HarperVoyager [33]
Greig Beck Book of the Dead Momentum
2015 Trent Jamieson* Day Boy Text Publishing [34]
Uncontested
2016 Kaaron Warren* The Grief Hole IFWG Publishing Australia [35][36]
Kenneth Cook Fear is the Rider Text Publishing [35]
Justine Larbalestier My Sister Rosa Allen & Unwin
2017 Lois Murphy* Soon Transit Lounge [37][38]
J. S. Breukelaar Aletheia Crystal Lake Publishing [37]
Maria Lewis Who's Afraid Too? Hachette Australia
2018 Kaaron Warren* Tide of Stone Omnium Gatherum [39][40]
Shirley Barrett The Bus on Thursday Allen & Unwin [39]
Criag Cormick Years of the Wolf IFWG Publishing Australia
2019 Andrew McGahan* The Rich Man's House Allen & Unwin [41][42]
Brian Craddock Chuwa: The Rat-People of Lahore Broken Puppet Books [41]
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 [43][44]
Daniel de Lorne Soul Survivor Scarlo Media [43]
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 [45][46][47]
Jennifer Mills The Airways Picador Australia [45][47]
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 [48]
Alan Baxter Sallow Bend Cemetery Dance [48][49]
Robert Hood Scavengers Clan Destine Press
Kathryn Hore The Stranger Allen & Unwin
Angela Slatter Path of Thorns Tital
2023 S. E Tolsen* Bunny Pan Macmillan Australia [50][51]
Graham Akhurst Borderland UWA Publishing [50]
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

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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 [18]
2007 Keri Arthur Dangerous Games Piatkus [18]
David Conyers & John Sunseri The Spiraling Worm Chaosium [18]
Jason Nahrung The Darkness Within Hachette Livre [18]
2011 Stephen M. Irwin The Broken Ones Hachette [27]
Trent Jamieson The Business of Death Hachette [27]

See also

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

References

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