Aurealis Shortlists announced!

SpecFaction NSW, organisers of the 2010 Aurealis Awards, are delighted to announce the finalists for the 2010 Aurealis Awards.

Judging Coordinator, Keith Stevenson, said that with approximately 600 entries across the thirteen categories, the judges had a big task.

“Overall, the judges agreed that the entries had been of a high standard. In a number of the categories the judges informed us that they had trouble coming down to a shortlist of five with many worthy entries just missing out on being included. I’d like to extend my thanks to all the judges for their time and professionalism in the judging of these awards.”

Winners of the 2010 Aurealis Awards and the Peter McNamara Award will be announced at the Aurealis Awards ceremony, sponsored by Harper Voyager, on the evening of Saturday the 21st of May. Details of the evening and a link to the online booking website are available at http://www.aurealisawards.com

2010 Aurealis Awards – Finalists

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)

Grimsdon, Deborah Abela, Random House
Ranger’s Apprentice #9: Halt’s Peril, John Flanagan, Random House
The Vulture of Sommerset, Stephen M Giles, Pan Macmillan
The Keepers, Lian Tanner, Allen & Unwin
Haggis MacGregor and the Night of the Skull, Jen Storer & Gug Gordon, Aussie Nibbles
(Penguin)

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)

Night School, Isobelle Carmody (writer) & Anne Spudvilas (illustrator), Penguin Viking
Magpie, Luke Davies (writer) & Inari Kiuru (illustrator), ABC Books (HarperCollins)
The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (writer) & Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Penguin Viking
Precious Little, Julie Hunt & Sue Moss (writers) & Gaye Chapman (illustrator), Allen &
Unwin
The Cloudchasers, David Richardson (writer) & Steven Hunt (illustrator), ABC Books
(HarperCollins)

YOUNG ADULT Short Story

Inksucker, Aidan Doyle, Worlds Next Door, Fablecroft Publishing
One Story, No Refunds, Dirk Flinthart, Shiny #6, Twelfth Planet Press
A Thousand Flowers, Margo Lanagan, Zombies Vs Unicorns, Allen & Unwin
Nine Times, Kaia Landelius & Tansy Rayner Roberts, Worlds Next Door, Fablecroft
Publishing

An Ordinary Boy, Jen White, The Tangled Bank, Tangled Bank Press

YOUNG ADULT Novel

Merrow, Ananda Braxton-Smith, black dog books
Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey, Allen & Unwin
The Midnight Zoo, Sonya Hartnett, Penguin
The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher, Doug MacLeod, Penguin
Behemoth (Leviathan Trilogy Book Two), Scott Westerfeld, Penguin

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK/ GRAPHIC NOVEL

Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Nicki Greenberg, Allen & Unwin
EEEK!: Weird Australian Tales of Suspense, Jason Paulos et al, Black House Comics
Changing Ways Book 1, Justin Randall, Gestalt Publishing
Five Wounds: An Illustrated Novel, Jonathan Walker & Dan Hallett, Allen & Unwin
Horrors: Great Stories of Fear and Their Creators, Rocky Wood & Glenn Chadbourne,
McFarlane & Co.

BEST COLLECTION

The Library of Forgotten Books, Rjurik Davidson, PS Publishing
Under Stones, Bob Franklin, Affirm Press
Sourdough and Other Stories, Angela Slatter, Tartarus Press
The Girl With No Hands, Angela Slatter, Ticonderoga Publications
Dead Sea Fruit, Kaaron Warren, Ticonderoga Publications

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, edited by Angela Challis & Dr Marty
Young, Brimstone Press
Sprawl, edited by Alisa Krasnostein, Twelfth Planet Press
Scenes from the Second Storey, edited by Amanda Pillar & Pete Kempshall, Morrigan Books
Godlike Machines, edited by Jonathan Strahan, SF Book Club
Wings of Fire, edited by Jonathan Strahan & Marianne S. Jablon, Night Shade Books

HORROR Short Story

Take the Free Tour, Bob Franklin, Under Stones, Affirm Press
Her Gallant Needs, Paul Haines, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press
The Fear, Richard Harland, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears,
Brimstone Press
Wasting Matilda, Robert Hood, Zombie Apocalypse!, Constable & Robinson Ltd
Lollo, Martin Livings, Close Encounters of the Urban Kind, Apex Publishing

HORROR Novel

After the World: Gravesend, Jason Fischer, Black House Comics
Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson, Orbit (Hachette)
Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott, Pan Macmillan

FANTASY Short Story

The Duke of Vertumn’s Fingerling, Elizabeth Carroll, Strange Horizons
Yowie, Thoraiya Dyer, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press
The February Dragon, LL Hannett & Angela Slatter, Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga Publications
All the Clowns in Clowntown, Andrew McKiernan, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s
Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press
Sister, Sister, Angela Slatter, Strange Tales III, Tartarus Press

FANTASY Novel

The Silence of Medair, Andrea K Höst, self-published
Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson, Orbit (Hachette)
Stormlord Rising, Glenda Larke, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)
Heart’s Blood, Juliet Marillier, Pan Macmillan
Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)

SCIENCE FICTION Short Story

The Heart of a Mouse, K.J. Bishop, Subterranean Online (Winter 2010)
The Angaelian Apocalypse, Matthew Chrulew, The Company Articles Of Edward Teach/The
Angaelian Apocalypse, Twelfth Planet Press
Border Crossing, Penelope Love, Belong, Ticonderoga Publications
Interloper, Ian McHugh, Asimovs (Jan 2011)
Relentless Adaptations, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press

SCIENCE FICTION Novel

Song of Scarabaeous, Sara Creasy, EOS Books
Mirror Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)
Transformation Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)

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And now we are launched!

The book launch for Worlds Next Door took place on Thursday August 19, 2010 at the Rockingham Community Library. Hosted by Simon Haynes, author of the fantastic Hal Spacejock series, with readings by contributors Leith Daniel and Jen Banyard, more than 65 people came along and enjoyed the event.

I was delighted with the turn out, and enjoyed the launch very much, as did everyone who I’ve spoken to about it. Lee Battersby said some very kind things on his blog; I particularly liked his appreciation for the kid-friendliness of the event.

I was very fortunate to have a number of good friends offer catering assistance and other help with the launch; particular mention must be made of Terri Sellen who baked and gorgeously decorated eleventy million cupcakes and a beautiful bookshelf cake. Incredible!

I’ve posted a whole bunch of photos in an public Facebook album here – many taken by my friend Leanne Joyce, others on my camera by myself, my husband and anyone else who got a hold of the camera!

Worlds Next Door book launch tomorrow!

Things have been a bit quiet around here for a couple of weeks. There are many reasons for this, one of the primary ones being the preparations for the official launch of Worlds Next Door, which takes place tomorrow evening.

The book has been out in the wild for a couple of weeks now, with some very positive feedback being blogged, tweeted and Facebooked about, which is lovely to see. Check out the FableCroft twitter feed for some of the retweets (and sometime real soon I will start a Reviews page on the website!).

Simon Haynes, of Hal Spacejock fame, is hosting the launch for us, and there will be readings by at least two of the authors, giveaways, fun for the kids, and lots of food and drink!

The Rockingham Community Library is very kindly providing the venue, and we’ll have lots of photos to share in a day or two. Should be lots of fun!

Worlds Next Door Book Launch

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE WORLDS NEXT DOOR BOOK LAUNCH!

Date: Thursday, 19 August 2010
Time: 17:30 – 19:00
Location: Rockingham Community Library, Dixon Road, Rockingham

Worlds Next Door is an Australian anthology of speculative fiction stories for 9-13 year olds. Published by FableCroft Publishing and edited by Tehani Wessely, Worlds Next Door contains stories by 25 Australian authors, each illustrated by Australian artists. Many of the authors in the pages are award-winning and well-known writers of children’s fiction, and the anthology is compiled to be enjoyed by kids and adults alike, with an accompanying website containing free teaching materials, story downloads, podcasts, guest blogs and more. worldsnextdoor.wordpress.com

Teachers, librarians, children, families, friends and interested persons are invited to celebrate the launch of Worlds Next Door, the flagship book from Rockingham publishing house FableCroft. Drinks and nibblies for all ages will be provided, and there will be lots of prizes to win!

Hosted by Perth author Simon Haynes (of Hal Spacejock fame) with participation by the editor/publisher and local authors. Come along and join the fun!

Winner of the Liar competition!

Congratulations to Nikki, who told us that her favourite YA book was:

“Are you there God it’s me Margaret” by Judy Blume. This was banned from my school library when I was in Year Seven so became the book that everyone wanted to read. We had to sneak copies in from the ‘outside’ and on the quiet and eventually each girl in the two classes had read it. This was my first experience of censorship.

Nikki wins a brand new copy of Justine Larbalestier’s 2009 novel Liar, which is one of my favourite YA novels of the past couple of years!

There were some great comments which turn into a pretty decent reading list. If you’re interested in discovering some unusual YA favourites, check out the comments of the post!

Liar Giveaway

Welcome to the FableCroft blog! I’ve been working away on this for a while now and think this website is ready (enough) to share with the world. To celebrate, I’m giving away a book!

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

ISBN: 9781741758726

Published in Australia by Allen & Unwin

Secrets, lies, murder and betrayal.
Micah Wilkins is a liar. But when her boyfriend, Zach, dies under brutal circumstances, the shock might be enough to set her straight. Or maybe not. Especially when lying comes as naturally to her as breathing. Was Micah dating Zach? Did they kiss? Did she see him the night he died? And is she really hiding a family secret? Where does the actual truth lie?
Liar is a breathtaking roller-coaster read that will have you up all night, desperately seeking for something true.

One of my favourite books of 2009, Liar is so cleverly written that it needs to be read at least twice! If you don’t already have a copy (or do, but would like to give one away as a gift, or to your local library!), now is your chance to get your hands on it, free!

THE RULES:

1. In the comments, tell us your favourite Young Adult book ever, and why you loved it so much. (I have a fairly broad definition of what is YA)

2. All eligible comments will be entered into the competition, which will be a random draw.

3. If we get more than 50 entries, I’ll throw a second (probably different) YA prize book on the table.

4. Open to individuals (of all ages) and libraries only.

5. Open internationally – we’ll post anywhere in the world.

6. Competition closes on Monday May 31, 2010.

Please feel free to link to the competition. And have a look around at FableCroft while you’re here! We have Twitter, a Facebook group and a baby website for our first book, the anthology Worlds Next Door (due out in June). Nice to meet you!