Aurealis Awards: call for judges

Applications are now open for the 2013 Aurealis Awards judging panels.

We are seeking expressions of interest from people who would like to judge for the 2013 Aurealis Awards. Judges are volunteers and are drawn from the Australian speculative fiction community, from diverse professions and backgrounds, including academics, booksellers, librarians, published authors, publishing industry professionals, reviewers and enthusiasts. The only qualification necessary is a demonstrated knowledge of and interest in their chosen category. In 2013, all judges must be willing and able to read electronic entries, which we will accept in all categories.

Panel sizes may vary among categories – and from year to year – depending on the perceived workload required and the availability of judges for a particular category. However, each panel will consist of at least three judges, one of which will be the panel convenor. Being an Aurealis Awards judge involves reading entries in a single category, which may comprise several dozen novels and/or more than a hundred short stories in the process of evaluating the year’s entries. Judges may keep their reading copies of entries.

Categories are: Science Fiction Novel, Science Fiction Short Story, Fantasy Novel, Fantasy Short Story, Horror Novel and Horror Short Story, Young Adult Novel and Young Adult Short Story, Children’s Fiction, Collection, Anthology, Illustrated Book/Graphic Novel. Because fantasy and science fiction are the largest categories, they have been split into two separate judging panels, one for novels and one for short stories. In 2013, all Children’s entries will be judged in a single category, to maintain the integrity of the award.

As of 2013, the Aurealis Awards accepts electronic entries in all categories. Judges of short fiction must be willing to accept and read entries in this format.  Willingness and ability to read electronically is an essential aspect of the judging role.

It is vital that judges be able to work as part of a team and meet stringent deadlines. Most of the judges’ discussions are conducted via a private online forum or email.

Entries to the awards close in December, with all work published between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 eligible for entry. Shortlists from each panel will be required by early February 2014 (firm dates will be advised), and prospective judges should be aware that this may be an intensive process.

Dates for Judging (to be confirmed):

June 2013 – entries open

December 15 2013 – entries close

December 31 2013 – final entries must be received by judges

Early February 2014 – shortlists and finalists must be decided

March 2014 – Awards ceremony (details to be advised)

All discussions are confidential between the judges in each panel and the judging co-ordinator and/or the Aurealis Awards management team, as required. The Aurealis Awards judging co-ordinator will have no input into these decisions unless a panel of judges is unable to reach a consensus.

Judges from previous Aurealis Awards processes are welcome – indeed encouraged – to re-apply. But, in the interests of transparency and impartiality, no one may judge the same category for more than two consecutive years, and a break of two consecutive years is required before a judge can reapply to be a judge in that particular category again.

The winner of the Peter McNamara Convenors’ Award for Excellence will be reached by a consensus of the convenors of each of the judging panels.

Each judge receives one complimentary ticket (non-transferable) to the Aurealis Awards ceremony.

Please provide the following information to Judging Co-ordinator Tehani Wessely at aajudges@gmail.com, by 17 May, 2013. 

1. Name.

2. Postal Address.

3. Email Address and telephone number.

4. Preferred judging categories (please provide at least three options, in order of preference).

5. A paragraph or two detailing relevant experience and reasons you would like to be a judge for the Awards.

6. Preferred e-file format (ie: mobi for Kindle, epub, PDF, rtf)

The judging positions are open to Australian residents only.

Ditmar nominations are now open

via Jeremy G. Byrne

Ditmar Nominations Open

Nominations for the 2013 Australian SF (“Ditmar”) awards are now open
and will remain open until one minute before midnight Canberra time on
Wednesday, 20th of March, 2013 (ie. 11.59pm, GMT+10). Likewise, postal
nominations must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, 20th March, 2013.

The current rules, including Award categories can be found at:

http://wiki.sf.org.au/Ditmar_rules

You must include your name with any nomination. Nominations will be
accepted only from natural persons active in fandom, or from full or
supporting members of Conflux 9, the 2013 Australian National SF
Convention. Where a nominator may not be known to the Ditmar
subcommittee, the nominator should provide the name of someone known to
the subcommittee who can vouch for the nominator’s eligibility.
Convention attendance or membership of an SF club are among the criteria
which qualify a person as “active in fandom”, but are not the only
qualifying criteria. If in doubt, nominate and mention your qualifying
criteria. If you received this email directly, you almost certainly qualify.

You may nominate as many times in as many Award categories as you like,
although you may only nominate a particular person, work or achievement
once. The Ditmar subcommittee, which is organised under the auspices the
Standing Committee of the Natcon Business Meeting, will rule on
situations where eligibility is unclear. A partial and unofficial
eligibility list, to which everyone is encouraged to add, can be found here:

http://wiki.sf.org.au/2013_Ditmar_eligibility_list

While online nominations are preferred, nominations can be made in a
number of ways:

1. online, via this form:

http://ditmars.sf.org.au/2013/nominations.html

2. via email to ditmars@sf.org.au; or

3. by post to:

Ditmars
6 Florence Road
NEDLANDS WA 6009
AUSTRALIA

And a reminder from me about FableCroft’s eligible works

Welcome to the end of the month

How is it the end of January already?! Time is definitely speeding up, I’m certain of it!

Big news this week is we finally got a house to rent! It’s even in the same area as we’re already in, though not nearly as conveniently located and being quite a bit dearer than we’re already paying. However, it’s a bit bigger (5 x 3!), and is in a nice quiet cul de sac, so should be a good move. Removalists booked in for next Friday, so now really have to get moving on the packing thing. Yuck.

I’ve been madly editing away, trying to get One Small Step and The Bone Chime Song both heading to print-readiness. Of course, spending a heap of time on FableCroft has also resulted in spending a heap MORE time on FableCroft as it winds me up to do other things too! Like this post about FableCroft’s awards eligibility for the year ahead! And investigating review outlets. And looking into new projects… Eep!

What else? Kids are swimming again this week, which has been fantastic. The cost is a bit steep, compared to the wonderful Vac Swim program we loved in WA, but I’m really happy with their progress and will definitely find a weekly lesson for them through the term. And we’re gearing up for back to school (next Tuesday) with a trip to the uniform shop on Tuesday, and we do the school book pickup today (or maybe tomorrow – I’ve had bugger all sleep so may not be bothered today!).

Oh, and we had the child health checkup for bubs this week – he’s doing well Growing perfectly on the curve (top of the average for his weight, which was to be expected!) and looking good. He’s a little sweetie whose new chuckles are SO infectious! Adorable.

Flying visit to WA

We’re making the most of these school holidays by wandering about the countryside! Travel to date:

Thursday last week: hopped on a plane to QLD. Kids travelled well, Jetstar was fine. Flew into Brisbane, then hired a car. Got to Toowoomba that night, as planned, for a not terribly restful night’s sleep (note to self: two year olds are not fun to share a bed with, and 9 year olds who want to see Grandpop and go fishing wake up really really early).

Friday: drove to Miles. First stop lunch, where my mate Sharryn joined us. Second stop, hairdresser! My favourite hairdresser is one who has done my hair since I was a teenager, and the salon is kid-friendly and nice. I always take the opportunity to get my hair done there when I’m visiting the family. Though it’s getting to the point it would be WAY cheaper to fly her down to visit us instead! Finished there and went to the Historical Village to wait for Mum to arrive back from a bus tour she was on for work, then headed out to brother’s place. S-i-L not home, nor oldest nephew, but enjoyed catching up with brother and his two youngest. Dad also joined us there, so was able to leave hire car rather than brave the kangaroos on the gravel road. Aunties from Sydney arrived at Mum and Dad’s not too long after we got home, so it was a bit chaotic!

Saturday: Dad and Master Nine headed in early, as Dad was driving a truck in the street parade. M9 not terribly impressed as all he wanted to do was fish, but he had a good time in the end I think (helped that he got to go home with Grandpop at 11 – not at all interested in the rest of the events when there was fishing to be done!). The rest of us left at about 9am, to wait about for an hour in town pre-parade. Miss Six and Master Two were on the Village “float” (the historical ute), looking very country (M6 actually won Best Dressed Girl, which she was chuffed about!). I took a bunch of photos of the parade, but haven’t downloaded yet, so these are my aunt’s. Saw a few people to have chats to after the parade, which was very nice, then walked up to the football grounds where the rest of the festival was taking place. Pleasant day, lots of free rides for the kids, people to see and market stalls to peruse. A bit weary by mid-afternoon but lasted until about four I think before taking my ratty kids home.

Reminder: Aurealis Awards entries

Feel free to share!

2012 Aurealis Awards – Enter now

The Aurealis Awards are open for entry, with the end of the entry period starting to loom.

The Aurealis Awards, Australia’s premier awards for speculative fiction, are for works of speculative fiction written by an Australian citizen or permanent resident, published for the first time between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012.

Categories include novels, short stories, YA, and illustrated works.

Entering work in the Aurealis Awards is easy and free.

All you need to do is go to our website www.aurealisawards.com and fill in the online form. We’ll then send you details of where to send your work for judging.

But hurry! Entries close midnight 23 December 2012. Why are we asking for entries now? All our judges are volunteers, and by encouraging early entry, we ensure that all works are given fair consideration. Works received very late in the reading period may only have a short time to be considered (shortlists are released early in 2013), and some categories have very heavy reading loads. We appreciate your support in ensuring all entries can receive the attention they deserve by entering early!

Nominations for the Peter McNamara Convenors’ Award for Excellence also close on 31 December 2012. This award is for achievement in speculative fiction or related areas. It may take into account a body of work over a number of years; it can also be for a work of non-fiction, artwork, electronic or multimedia work, film or TV released in 2012 that brings credit or attention to the speculative fiction genres.

Finalists will be announced in March 2013 with winners presented at a special awards evening in Sydney in May 2013.