The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award.
Kim Wilkins is an Australian writer of popular fiction based in Brisbane, Queensland. She is the author of more than twenty-five mass-market novels, including her debut horror novel, The Infernal (1997), which won Aurealis Awards for both horror and fantasy. She has been published in twenty languages. She also writes general women's fiction as Kimberley Freeman.
Fire Angels is a 1998 fantasy fiction novel by Jane Routley. It follows the first book in the series, Mage Heart, with Dion reuniting with family and finding her homeland overrun with Witch Hunters and Fire Angels.
Aramaya is a 1999 fantasy novel by Jane Routley. It follows the second book in the series, Fire Angels, with Dion arriving in the capitol of Akieva in search of her missing niece.
The Infernal is a 1997 horror/fantasy novel by Kim Wilkins. It follows the story of musician whose fans keep turning up dead and who is having memories that do not belong to her.
The Storm Weaver and the Sand is a 2002 fantasy novel by Sean Williams. It follows the second book in the series, The Sky Warden & the Sun, with Sal and Shilly finding shelter with the Stone Mages only to be betrayed and put forward for judgement by the Sky Wardens.
The Aurealis Awards are presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications and WASFF 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 corresponding 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.
Foreign Devil is a 1999 young adult horror novel by Christine Harris. It follows the story of Tyler Norton who is abducted by pirates from the past and faces a bid for freedom.
The Resurrectionists is a 2000 horror novel by Kim Wilkins. It is the story of Maisie Fielding who, bored with her job and family, returns to England to research her grandmother, who is a "white witch".
The Autumn Castle is a 2003 horror/fantasy novel by Kim Wilkins. It follows the story of Christine Starlight who has strong memories of her childhood friend, Mayfridh. Mayfridh was then abducted by the king and queen of a Germanic fairyland and is now on the throne of the Autumn Castle. Now the human and fairy worlds have joined with Mayfridh falling in love with Christine's partner and Christine venturing to the fairy world.
Giants of the Frost is a 2004 horror/fantasy novel by Kim Wilkins. It follows the story of Victoria Scott who after accepting a job on an isolated island is visited by a hag in her nightmares and a sense of familiarity in the haunted forest. In the world of Asgard, Vidar has exiled himself in order to await the reincarnation of the woman he loved.
The Seance is a 2008 horror novel by John Harwood. Set in late 19th century London, it follows the story of Constance Langton who in an attempt to make her mother healthy again takes her to a séance only to result in tragic consequences. The Seance won the 2008 Aurealis Award for best horror novel.
The Black Crusade is a 2004 horror novel by Richard Harland. It is a prequel to Harland's earlier novel The Vicar of Morbing Vyle. It describes the journey of the hapless Basil Smorta, a multilingual bank clerk, who is forced into the company of a group of "fundamental Darwinists" by their imprisonment of the object of his undying love, Australian singer, Volusia, in a mobile iron box. The group travel across Eastern Europe during 1894, and encounter ghosts, blood donating vampires and other comic horror curiosities.
The Pilo Family Circus is a 2006 horror novel by Will Elliott.
The Dark Imbalance is a 2001 science fiction novel by Sean Williams and Shane Dix. It is the third novel in the Evergence series and is preceded by The Dying Light which was published in 2000. It follows the story of Morgan Roche who has been given the task to protect mankind from the cloned warriors.
The White Abacus is a 1997 science fiction novel by Damien Broderick. It follows the story of Telmah Lord Cima who travels to Earth from a far-off world and becomes friends with a computer-augmented being called Ratio.
Transcension is a 2002 science fiction novel by Damien Broderick. It follows the story of lawyer Mohammed Kasim Abdel-Malik, whose body is placed in cryonic suspension and his mind used as a source for the artificial intelligence Aleph after he is killed.
Dreaming Down-Under is a 1998 speculative fiction anthology edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb.
Fireworks and Darkness is a 2002 young adult novel by Natalie Jane Prior. It follows the story of Simeon Runciman who is a firework maker and former dark magician who is caught up in murder and magic when his enemy reappears. It is followed by a companion book entitled Star Locket which was published in 2006.
Angela Slatter is a writer based in Brisbane, Australia. Primarily working in the field of speculative fiction, she has focused on short stories since deciding to pursue writing in 2005, when she undertook a Graduate Diploma in Creative Writing. Since then she has written a number of short stories, many of which were included in her two compilations, Sourdough and Other Stories (2010) and The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales (2010).
