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Two items ruled ineligible; category withdrawn [54] [2]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]
Nominations were opened on the last day of the Natcon. A preliminary ballot was released in September. [103] Awards were presented at Conflux. [104]
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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.
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