The Ditmar Award is Australia's oldest [1] and best-known[ citation needed ] science fiction, fantasy and horror award, presented annually since 1969, usually at the Australian "Natcon". The historical nominations and results (listed in boldface) of the Award follow.
(The programme book for the 1990 Natcon, Danse Macabre, records that no Ditmar Awards were presented in 1974.)
(The Australian newszine Thyme records that Tschaicon was the "First Australasian Science Fiction Convention", the relevant constitution having had "Australian" replaced with "Australasian" throughout; that the award categories used "Australasian" rather than "Australian"; and that the constitution was modified, at Tschaicon, to have "Australasian" changed back to "Australian".)
There was an award from the committee, in the form of a miniature Ditmar Award, to Marc Ortlieb for Best Toastmastering. [8]
There were insufficient nominations for the William Atheling Jr Award. [13]
The awards ceremony included presentation of the A. Bertram Chandler Award to Lee Harding, and another three special awards to Damien Broderick, for Transmitters; John Foyster, for past work in fandom; and the Nova Mob, for going on for a long time. [16] (The A. Bertram Chandler Award is a separate award. [1] )
The awards ceremony included presentation of five special awards from the Syncon committee to Jack R. Herman, Eric B. Lindsay, Ron Clarke, Sue Clarke, and Shayne McCormack. [30]
An awards ceremony was held 16 December 2000; the actual trophies were presented later at Swancon 2001. [49] [50] [2]
Two items ruled ineligible; category withdrawn [54] [2]
There was a version of the ballot on which the cover design by Lisa L. Hannett for The Girl With No Hands was nominated as cover art under Best Artwork. [72] [73] When it was reclassified as cover design under Best Achievement, cover art by Andrew J. McKiernon for Savage Menace and Other Poems of Horror got onto the ballot under Best Artwork. [74]
(The convention was cancelled.) There were insufficient nominations for the Best Artwork and Best Fan Artist categories. [93]
There was a preliminary ballot on which Bruce Gillespie was nominated for Best Fan Writer "for writing in SF Commentary and ANZAPA articles". [94]
(The convention was cancelled.) [97]
Some categories had more than five nominees due to ties, and some had fewer due to insufficient nominations.
Results of the preliminary ballot were declared in August, [100] with the winners announced on 30 September 2023: [101]
Jonathan Strahan is an editor and publisher of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. 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.
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The Australian National Science Fiction Convention or Natcon is an annual science fiction convention. Each convention is run by a different committee unaffiliated with any national fannish body. Bids for running the Natcon are voted on by attendees at the Natcon two years in advance. These votes are held at a Business Meeting organised by the convention committee, and held at the convention, in practice much of the organisation of the meeting is done by a standing committee selected by the prior meeting.
Alex Isle is an Australian author. He writes both novels and short stories in the science fiction/fantasy genre, as well as books and articles of nonfiction, for both adult and young adult audiences.
Kaaron Warren is an Australian author of horror, science fiction, and fantasy short stories and novels.
Martin Livings is an Australian author of horror, fantasy and science fiction. He has been writing short stories since 1990 and has been nominated for both the Ditmar Award and Aurealis Award. Livings resides in Perth, Western Australia.
Catriona (Cat) Sparks is an Australian science fiction writer, editor and publisher.
David Conyers is an Australian author. Conyers writes predominantly science fiction and Lovecraftian horror.
Tansy Rayner Roberts is an Australian fantasy writer. Her short stories have been published in a variety of genre magazines, including Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine and Aurealis. She also writes crime fiction as Livia Day.
Jason Nahrung is an Australian horror author and journalist who lives in Melbourne with his partner Kirstyn McDermott. Nahrung has previously written for The Courier-Mail in Queensland, with a special interest in speculative fiction and horror-related topics. He was co-winner the 2005 William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review. His first novel, The Darkness Within, was published in June 2007 by Hachette Livre in Australia. Nahrung has also published some horror and speculative fiction short stories.
The William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review are a Special Category under the Ditmar Awards. "The Athelings", as they are known for short, are awarded for excellence in science fiction and speculative criticism, and were named for the pseudonym used by James Blish for his critical writing.
Jane Routley is an Australian writer of fantasy fiction.
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Chuck McKenzie is an Australian writer of speculative fiction.
Chris Lawson is an Australian writer of speculative fiction.
Trent Jamieson is an Australian writer of speculative fiction.
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