Aurealis Award for best anthology
Encyclopedia
The Aurealis Awards are presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications
and Fantastic Queensland 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 current 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 novel
s, children's novel
s, children's illustrative work or picture book, 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. 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 anthology category. The award for best anthology was first awarded in 2008 along with two other categories; best collection and best illustrated book or graphic novel to replace the discontinued Golden Aurealis awards. Of the four winners, Jonathan Strahan
is the only person to have won the award multiple times, with three wins. Strahan holds the record for most nominations with 6, and Alisa Krasnostein has the most nominations without winning, having been a losing finalist twice.
Winners and joint winners
Nominees on the shortlist
I Publisher names in parentheses indicate the imprint
under which the book was published.
Chimaera Publications
Chimaera Publications is a publisher based in Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia. The company currently publishes the speculative fiction magazine Aurealis as well as running the Aurealis Awards.-History:...
and Fantastic Queensland to published works in order to "recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
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 current 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
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
. 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 novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
s, children's novel
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
s, children's illustrative work or picture book, 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
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
and Orbit
Orbit Books
Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company...
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. 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 anthology category. The award for best anthology was first awarded in 2008 along with two other categories; best collection and best illustrated book or graphic novel to replace the discontinued Golden Aurealis awards. Of the four winners, Jonathan Strahan
Jonathan Strahan
Jonathan Strahan is an editor and publisher of science fiction. His family moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1968, and he graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts in 1986....
is the only person to have won the award multiple times, with three wins. Strahan holds the record for most nominations with 6, and Alisa Krasnostein has the most nominations without winning, having been a losing finalist 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 blue 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 | Editor(s) | Anthology | Publisher | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | Viking Children’s Books | |||
| & Michelle Marquardt | MirrorDanse Books MirrorDanse Books MirrorDanse Books , founded in 1994, is one of Australia's longest running independent book publishers of science fiction and horror.MirrorDanse Books publishes the The Year's Best Australian SF & Fantasy anthology series, edited by Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt... |
|||
| Dreaming Again | HarperCollins HarperCollins HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide... (HarperVoyager) |
|||
| * | Eclipse 3 | Night Shade Books Night Shade Books Night Shade Books is an independent publishing company based in San Francisco, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It was started in 1997 by Jason Williams, with Jeremy Lassen coming on board as a partner shortly after the company's founding... |
||
| & Jonathan Strahan Jonathan Strahan Jonathan Strahan is an editor and publisher of science fiction. His family moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1968, and he graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts in 1986.... |
HarperCollins HarperCollins HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide... (Eos) |
|||
| & Tehani Wessely | New Ceres Nights | Twelfth Planet Press | ||
| X6 | Coeur de Lion Publishing | |||
| Eclipse 2 | Night Shade Books Night Shade Books Night Shade Books is an independent publishing company based in San Francisco, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It was started in 1997 by Jason Williams, with Jeremy Lassen coming on board as a partner shortly after the company's founding... |
|||
| & Marianne S. Jablon | Wings of Fire | Night Shade Books Night Shade Books Night Shade Books is an independent publishing company based in San Francisco, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It was started in 1997 by Jason Williams, with Jeremy Lassen coming on board as a partner shortly after the company's founding... |
||
| & Marty Young | Macabre: A Journey Through Australia's Darkest Fears | Brimstone Press Brimstone Press Brimstone Press was an Australian independent publisher of dark fiction . Brimstone Press was established in 2004 by Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings and was based in Western Australia.... |
||
| Sprawl | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| & Pete Kempshall | Scenes from the Second Storey | Morrigan Books | ||
| Godlike Machines | SF Book Club |
I Publisher names in parentheses indicate the imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
under which the book was published.