Tag Archives: awards

Events, News, Short Stories

‘Jane’ wins The Body in the Library category at the Scarlet Stiletto Awards

This year I entered the Sisters in Crime Australia Scarlet Stiletto Awards for the very first time. The awards, hosted by Sisters in Crime and a number of generous sponsors, are for crime stories written by Australian women and with female protagonists.

I am absolutely thrilled to have received the Body in the Library first place with my ghost story, ‘Jane’.

An Australian Literature research student meets a ghost in a state-of-the-art private library on a remote bush property. She tries to unravel the mystery of the ghost’s origins while the dangers of the present, both human and natural, loom.

The awards night was fabulous! Most of the 26 shortlisted authors (out of 186 entrants) were there, some coming from interstate. Jane Clifton was a marvellous MC, and did a fantastic interview with the ever-lovely Sigrid Thornton (with whom she co-starred in the iconic TV series Prisoner).

Congratulations to all my fellow short-listed authors, and category winners! Huge thanks to Sisters in Crime and the award sponsors, especially the fabulous Athenaeum Library!

A big thank you too to Lindy Cameron, who looked me in the eye when I told her I’d never written for the awards and instructed me, in no uncertain terms, that this year I had to enter.

Books and Publishing has a full list of the winning entries.

If you’d like to read ‘Jane’ and the other award-winning stories, you can pick up Scarlet Stiletto: The Ninth Cut 2017:

You can also find out more about the awards at Sisters in Crime.

News, Novels

Walking Shadows nominated for a 2012 Chronos Award!

This week I learned that Walking Shadows was nominated for a Chronos Award in the Best Long Fiction category. I’m obviously chuffed to bits, especially as the nominations are sent in by members of Melbourne’s Continuum convention.  Thank you Continuum People!

The Chronos Awards, according to the award site, “recognise excellence in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by Victorians”. It’s particularly nice to be included in the short list for an award for Victorian creators at a Melbourne convention – and with a book that is set so firmly in my chosen home town.

I’m also very proud to be sharing nomination in that category with great writers like Jason Nahrung, Paul Collins and Felicity Dowker and fabulous editors Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene for their Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror collection. Whatever the results of the award, it’s fabulous to be in such excellent company, in this and the other categories as well.

The Chronos Awards are very handsome too: sort of steampunky. (Here is a photo of Kirstyn McDermott’s 2011 award for Madigan Mine, which is another terrific book.)

Whether or not you’re going to Continuum or intend to vote in the Chronos Awards, have a look at the nominations and sample some of the great work being done by Victorian-based writers, artists, editors and bloggers, including:

If you’re a member of the convention, you can vote in the Chronos Awards before 20 May 2013. If you’re not a member of the convention, you can join up! I’ll be on several panels, including a short version of my Writing Sex and Intimacy workshop (strictly for the over 18s). And if you can’t get to the con but would like to vote, you can get a voting membership for $5.

Events

2012 Chronos Awards: For Your Consideration

The Devil's Mixtape
The Devil’s Mixtape: Eligible for Best Long Fiction and Best Artwork

Nominations for the 2012 Chronos Awards are open until 18 March, so if you read or saw some terrific specfic, horror or fantasy in 2011 by a Victorian, you should consider sending in a nomination.

If you’re not familiar with the Chronos Awards, they were introduced to celebrate “excellence in Victorian SF, Fantasy and Horror”. It’s a great opportunity for the Victorian fan community to recognise the talent in its midst. A work needs four nominations to make it onto the ballot, so obviously the more people who are involved in the nominatino process, as well as the voting, the more representative the awards are.

A list of works eligible for nomination is under construction, but I thought I would highlight a few works on this blog as well. Where I’ve reviewed the item, I’m linking to my review of the work.

Professional Categories:

Best Long Fiction (including collected works)
Best Short Fiction
  • Steve Cameron: So Sad, The Lighthouse Keeper published in Anywhere But Earth
  • Lucy Sussex: Thief of Lives published in Thief of Lives
Best Artwork
  • Audrey Fox: cover for The Devil’s Mixtape.
  • A Golem Story by Lally Katz, Michael Kantor [theatre] (reviewed on Mortal Words)

Fan Categories:

Best Fan Publication in any Medium
  • Bad Film Diaries (podcast), by Grant Watson.
  • Galactic Suburbia (podcast), by Alisa Krasnostein, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Alex Pierce.
  • The Writer and the Critic (podcast), hosted by Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond
  • PaleoCinema (podcast) hosted by Terry Frost
  • Boxcutters (podcast), episode 269 “Making SciFi TV for Adults”, by Josh Kinal, John Richards, et al.
  • Dark Matter, fanzine edited by Nalini Haynes.
  • Ethel the Aardvark (MSFC club magazine).
Best Fan Written Work
  • Your Heart Is A Weapon the Size of Your Fist by Mary Borsellino, Hunger Games essay examining love as a political act published in The Girl Who Was on Fire. (Reviewed on Mortal Words)
  • Reviews by various folks in fanzines and blogs, including reviews by Steven Cameron, Nalini Haynes, Chuck McKenzie, George Ivanoff and even mine from this blog. You guys probaby know more about the reviewers you follow and like than me, but don’t forget they’re eligible in this category.

Special Award for works not eligible in existing categories:

Best Achievement
  • Computer animated book trailer for Gamers’ Challenge by George Ivanoff, created by Henry Gibbens.

This list is a very limited idea of the bodhy of work that’s eligible for nomination. If you’ve been impressed by a Victorian’s work in 2011, please take a moment to contact the Continuum 8 awards committee to send them your nominations.