Tag Archives: Ditmar Awards

2014 Ditmar Awards

Posted on by

The 2014 Ditmar Awards were given at Continuum X, the Australian Natcon, in Melbourne this past weekend.

Best Novel

  • Fragments of a Broken Land: Valarl Undead, Robert Hood (Wildside Press)

Best Novella or Novelette

  • “The Home for Broken Dolls“, Kirstyn McDermott, in Caution: Contains Small Parts (Twelfth Planet Press)

Best Short Story

  • “Scarp”, Cat Sparks, in The Bride Price (Ticonderoga Publications)

Best Collected Work

  • The Bride Price, Cat Sparks, edited by Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Best Artwork

  • Rules of Summer, Shaun Tan (Hachette Australia)

Best Fan Writer

  • Sean Wright, for body of work, including reviews in Adventures of a Bookonaut

Best Fan Artist

  • Kathleen Jennings, for body of work, including “Illustration Friday”

Best Fan Publication in Any Medium

  • Galactic Chat Podcast, Sean Wright, Alex Pierce, Helen Stubbs, David McDonald, and Mark Webb

Best New Talent

  • Zena Shapter

William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review

  • Galactic Suburbia Episode 87: Saga Spoilerific Book Club, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts [tie]
  • The Reviewing New Who series, David McDonald, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Tehani Wessely [tie]

(Note: Wikipedia reports a tie in the Atheling category not reported elsewhere.)

Peter McNamara Award

  • Garth Nix

Norma K Hemming Award

  • Rupetta, N. A. Sulway

The History of Bruce Gillespie

Posted on by

There’s a fascinating interview of Bruce Gillespie, one of Australia’s most admired fans, on Rowena Cory Daniells’ site. Gillespie opens up about himself and also offers a lot of insights into fannish culture and history:

Q: Your work had received three Hugo Nominations before you were 30. You have received total of 45 Ditmar Nominations and 19 wins, and The A Bertram Chandler Award in 2007, plus you were fan guest of honour at AussieCon 3, the World SF Convention in 1999, is there anything left that you would like to achieve?

A: Like any other fanzine editor or writer, I would actually like to win the Hugo Award for either Best Fanzine or Best Fan Writer! …However, in 2009 I was awarded the Best Fan Writer in the annual FAAN Awards, given by my peers, the fanzine writers and editors who attend the Corflu convention in America. I count that as a great honour…

The post is richly  illustrated with many rare fannish photos.

[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]

Bruce Gillespie and Brian Aldiss at Stonehenge in 1974.

2010 Ditmar Award Nominations

Posted on by

The Ditmar Awards recognize excellence in SF, fantasy and horror by Australians.

The nominees in the fan categories interested me, partly because I know a few of them and am happy to see them being honored, and partly because the finalists collectively represent contemporary actifans’ scope of interest.  When the changes to the fan Hugo rules settle out I could see things trending in this direction — not these specific nominees, but the mix exemplified by this list, more mediafans (which wouldn’t bother me) and the persistent presence of quasihemisemidemipros in the fan categories (which always has).

    Best Fan Writer

  • Tansy Rayner Roberts, for body of work
  • Chuck McKenzie, for work in Horrorscope
  • Robert Hood, for Undead Backbrain (roberthood.net/blog)
  • Tehani Wessely, for body of work
  • Bruce Gillespie, for work in Steam Engine Time

    • Best Fan Artist

  • Dave Schembri for work in Midnight Echo
  • Kathleen Jennings for body of work
  • Dick Jenssen for body of work

    • Best Fan Publication in Any Medium

  • Interstellar Ramjet Scoop, edited by Bill Wright
  • A Writer Goes on a Journey (awritergoesonajourney.com), edited by Nyssa Pascoe et al
  • ASif! (asif.dreamhosters.com), edited by Alisa Krasnostein, Gene Melzack et al
  • Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet (bullsheet.sf.org.au), edited by Edwina Harvey and Ted Scribner
  • Steam Engine Time, edited by Bruce Gillespie and Janine Stinson

The full list of 2010 nominees is here.  

[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]