Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction

Established: 1995
Organizer: Chimaera Publications (Presented by). Operational and hosting duties vary annually among Fantastic Queensland, SpecFaction NSW, Conflux Inc, Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF), Continuum Foundation (ConFound), Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild (CSFG), etc.
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Open call
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Application Deadline: around November
Announcement Period: around February
Status: Active

Description

The Aurealis Award is an annual Australian literary award established in 1995 (first presented in 1996) that recognises excellence in speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy and horror. Only Australian authors are eligible. The awards are divided into subgenre and age categories (novel/short story/children's/young adult, etc.) and winners are selected by judging panels in each division.

Prize

Main Prize: Recognition upon winning (trophy/certificate) and industry recognition (no official prize money mentioned in the text)

Peter McNamara Conveners' Award for Excellence (related award given at the discretion of the judges)
Kris Hembury Encouragement Award (announced at the ceremony since 2009, but distinguished from the official Aurealis Award)

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Entry reception and eligibility check	Eligibility and format checked by judging panels organized per category (minimum 3 members). Each panel includes 1 convenor (Convenor)	—	Confirmation of eligible entries is handled by the organizers
Preliminary screening (finalist selection)	Judging panels per category evaluate entries and select finalists (final nominees)	—	Finalists may be announced on the official site or related announcements
Final selection and winner determination	The same panel selects the winner from the finalists	—	Winners are announced at the annual ceremony and official website (ceremony usually around May)

Entry reception and eligibility check

Judges Eligibility and format checked by judging panels organized per category (minimum 3 members). Each panel includes 1 convenor (Convenor)

Announcement Confirmation of eligible entries is handled by the organizers

Preliminary screening (finalist selection)

Judges Judging panels per category evaluate entries and select finalists (final nominees)

Announcement Finalists may be announced on the official site or related announcements

Final selection and winner determination

Judges The same panel selects the winner from the finalists

Announcement Winners are announced at the annual ceremony and official website (ceremony usually around May)

Criteria

Quality and originality as speculative fiction (SF, fantasy, horror)
Suitability to the category (novel/short story/children's/YA/illustration etc.) and subgenre
Literary evaluation of style, structure, depth of theme, etc.
Decisions based on past category criteria and consensus of the judging panel

Application Tips

Dos

Confirm eligibility (Australian citizenship/residency requirements) in advance
Confirm that the work matches the applicable category (genre/age group)
Accurately check and comply with submission format, word count, and deadline on the official site
Proofread the manuscript meticulously and submit only after enhancing its quality
Prepare required metadata (author name, contact information, synopsis, etc.)

Don''ts

Do not submit in a format that violates the rules or after the deadline
Do not enter unauthorized co-authored/translated/derivative works that infringe copyright or eligibility
Do not select the wrong category for submission (misentries may lead to disqualification)
Do not submit rough drafts without even basic revision

From Judges

Aim for a tone and structure suitable to the subgenre and age group
Prioritize clear, complete stories and strong prose
Incorporate proofreading and feedback from third parties
Provide required documents and metadata accurately according to the entry requirements