The finalists for the 2019 Aurealis Awards were announced March 25 by the Continuum Foundation (ConFound). The award recognizes the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers.

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

• Scorch Dragons by Amie Kaufman (HarperCollins Publishers)
• Race for the Red Dragon by Rebecca Lim (Allen & Unwin)
• The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)
• Jinxed!: The Curious Curse of Cora Bell by Rebecca McRitchie (author) & Sharon O’Connor (illustrator) (HarperCollins Publishers)
• The Glimme by Emily Rodda (Omnibus Books)
• The Lost Stone of SkyCity by Heather Waugh (Fremantle Press)

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL / ILLUSTRATED WORK

• Haphaven by Louie Joyce (Lion Forge)
• Yahoo Creek by Tohby Riddle (Allen & Unwin)
• Black Magick by Greg Rucka & Nicola Scott (Image Comics)
• Super Nova by Krys Saclier (Ford Street Publishing)
• Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery by Renee Treml (Allen & Unwin)

BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

• “The Jindabyne Secret by Jo Hart (Deadset Press)
• “Glass-Heart by K S Nikakis (SOV Media)
• “Dragon by Subscription” by Tansy Rayner Roberts (Patreon, self-published)
• “Seaweed” by Andrea Teare (Breach #11)
• “Each City” by Ellen Van Neerven (Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOZYA Stories, Walker Books Australia)
• “Rats” by Marlee Jane Ward (Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOZYA Stories, Walker Books Australia)

BEST HORROR SHORT STORY

• “Loose Stones” by Joanne Anderton (Infinite Threads)
• “The Mark” by Grace Chan (Verge 2019: Uncanny)
• “Pilgrimage” by Matthew R Davis (Breach #10)
• “The Unwrapping” by Terry Dowling (Echoes)
• “Of Meat and Man” by Jason Fischer (SNAFU: Last Stand, Cohesion Press)
• “Vivienne and Agnes” by Chris Mason (Beside the Seaside – Tales from the Day Tripper)
• “The Moth Tapes” by J Ashley Smith (Aurealis #117, Chimaera Publications)

BEST HORROR NOVELLA

• Yellowheart by Alan Baxter (Served Cold)
• Supermassive Black Mass by Matthew R Davis (Short Sharp Shocks! #21)
• Into Bones Like Oil by Kaaron Warren (Into Bones Like Oil)

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY

• “Loose Stones” by Joanne Anderton (Infinite Threads, Brio Books)
• “1078 Reasons” by Aidan Doyle (Translunar Travelers Lounge)
• “Pigshit and Gold” by Aiki Flinthart (Dimension6 #18, coeur de lion)
• “CurioQueens” by Ephiny Gale (Constellary Tales Magazine #4)
• “Good Dog, Alice” by Juliet Marillier (Wonderland, Titan books)
• “Dragon by Subscription” by Tansy Rayner Roberts (Patreon, self-published)

BEST FANTASY NOVELLA

• Like Ripples on a Blank Shore by J S Breukelaar (Collision: Stories, Meerkat Press)
• The Orchard by Ephiny Gale (Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #76)
• Out of Darkness by Chris Mason (Tales of the Lost, Things in the Well)
• ‘Scapes Made Diamond by Shauna O’Meara (Interzone 280)
• To Hell and Back by Michael Pryor (Aurealis #120, Chimaera Publications)
• The Final Prologue by Christopher Sequeira (Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Was Not, IFWG Publishing Australia)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

• “Sky Tears” by Mike Adamson (Alien Dimensions #17, Maldek House)
• “Wreck Diving” by Joanne Anderton (Aurealis #123, Chimaera Publications)
• “Riding the Snails” by Jason Fischer (War of the Worlds: Battleground Australia, Clan Destine Press)
• “Canute” by RPL Johnson (SNAFU: Last Stand, Cohesion Press)
• “What We Named the Needle” by Freya Marske (Analog Science Fiction and Fact Jul/Aug 2019, Penny Publications)
• “Micro” by Angela Meyer (Kill Your Darlings, Speculative Fiction and Fantasy Showcase 2019)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA

• Ventiforms by Sean Monaghan (Asimov’s Science Fiction Jan-Feb 2019)
• ‘Scapes Made Diamond by Shauna O’Meara (Interzone 280)
• You Will Remember Who You Were by Cat Sparks (Dimension6 #16)
• Prisoncorp by Marlee Jane Ward (Seizure)

BEST COLLECTION

• Collision: Stories by J S Breukelaar (Meerkat Press)
• Blackbirds Sing by Aiki Flintoff (CAT Press)
• Scar Tissue and Other Stories by Narrelle M Harris (Clan Destine Press)
• Five Dragons by Pamela Jeffs (Four Ink Press)
• Stray Bats by Margo Lanagan (Small Beer Press)
• Men and Machines I: Space Operas and Special Ops by Charlie Nash (Flying Nun Publications)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

• Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories edited by Michael Earp (Walker Books Australia)
• Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Was Not edited by Christopher Sequeira (IFWG Publishing Australia)
• The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 13 edited by Jonathan Strahan (Solaris)
• Mission: Critical edited by Jonathan Strahan (Solaris)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

• The Darkest Bloom by P M Freestone (Scholastic)
• Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller (UQP)
• Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
• Dev1at3 by Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
• The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier (Macmillan Australia)
• I Heard The Wolf Call My Name by K S Nikakis (SOV Media)

BEST HORROR NOVEL

• Chuwa: The Rat People of Lahore by Brian Craddock (Broken Puppet Books)
• Remains by Andrew Cull (IFWG Pub Aus)
• A Riddle in Bronze by Simon Haynes (Bowman Press)
• The Rich Man’s House by Andrew McGahan (Allen & Unwin)
• Body Farm Z by Deborah Sheldon (Severed Press)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL

• Angel Mage by Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)
• Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff (HarperCollins Publishers)
• The Wailing Woman by Maria Lewis (Little, Brown Book Group)
• The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier (Macmillan Australia)
• The Darkest Bloom by P M Freestone (Scholastic)
• Graveyard Shift in Ghost Town by Michael Pryor (Allen & Unwin)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

• The Subjects by Sarah Hopkins (Text Publishing)
• Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)
• The Trespassers by Meg Mundell (UQP)
• The Year of the Fruit Cake by Gillian Polack (IFWG Publishing Australia)
• The Glad Shout by Alice Robinson (Affirm Press)
• Daughter of Bad Times by Rohan Wilson (Allen & Unwin)