2021 Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement

CreativeNZ sent info about these awards to SFFANZ…

The annual Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement recognise New Zealand writers who have made a notable contribution to New Zealand literature in the genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. New Zealanders are invited to submit a nomination.

We have been a little skeptical in the past when it comes to literary awards and how they treat our sf/f/h genre. Its hard to say exactly why, but this award feels a little different. Perhaps its worth nominating one of our high profile genre writers. It helps that it is free and you don’t have to join any group to nominate.

If you are interested in nominating somebody, there isn’t much time. All the dates, forms and email addresses are on the CreativeNZ site.

Awardwatch : 2020 Bram Stoker Awards Ballot

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) have announced the finalists for the 2020 Bram Stoker Awards. The Bram Stoker Award winners will be announced in May during the Virtual StokerCon 2021 event.

Doing our usual search through looking for Kiwi connections, we again come across Lee Murray’s name on the ballot (twice!) – congratulations Lee.

You might wonder if we get bored by seeing the same few names keep cropping up on these major awards. Well, we really don’t – in the same way cricket fans never get bored seeing Kane Williamson score centuries. But we do still also want to see the next Kyle Jamieson, so if you spot any Kiwis getting recognised for any SF related activity (not just awards), then please drop us a line. We don’t know the names of all the local creatives, so we do need your help. There are a lot of awards out there – for example, perhaps somebody can run their eyes over the just announced Ursa Major Awards for us.

Awardwatch : World Fantasy Awards

Tamsyn Muir with her novel Gideon the Ninth is at it yet again – this time she has made it onto the final ballot for the 2020 World Fantasy Awards. Congratulations to all the finalists but especially to Tamsyn. Getting onto the ballot in the Locus awards, the Hugos and now the World Fantasy awards is one heck of a triple crown achievement

Elizabeth Knox & Taika Waititi – Queen’s Birthday honours

Elizabeth Knox has been named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature in the Queen’s Birthday honours list announced today. We note that she describes her books as “literary non-realism”, but if you read them you will recognise science fiction and fantasy when you see it.

Taika Waititi picked up an ONZM in the same awards for services to film. He has been involved in many projects which fit in our genre description, although we note that the Stuff article about the awards fails to mention his role in the creation of what we here at SFFANZ news think is the best of them – Wellington Paranormal.

Awardwatch : 2020 Locus Awards

Tamsyn Muir has been shortlisted for the 2020 Locus Awards in the First Novel category for Gideon the Ninth. The locus awards are a big deal, so congratulations to Tamsyn and all the nominees.

So since Tamsyn lives in the UK, why are we highlighting her we don’t hear you asking. Well from her press kit, we see the following “She has spent the majority of her life in Howick, New Zealand, with time spent living in Waiuku and central Wellington.” That makes her properly Kiwi in our opinion.

Awardwatch : Australian Shadows Awards

This is an interesting little quirk. The Australasian Horror Writers Association have announced the finalists in the 2019 Australian Shadows Awards. You can read the list of finalists on their web site.

The interesting thing is that the association announces themselves as “Australasian” – that means they consider themselves open to at least Australian and New Zealand members. And possibly other countries (e.g. PNG) depending which of the many differing definitions of Australasia you care to use (we found 6 such definitions – no two of which had the same country membership).

However these are their “Australian” Shadows Awards. Interesting huh? Anyway you can amuse yourself spotting the Kiwi authors among the Aussies in the award shortlist.

Awardwatch : 2020 Australian Fairy Tale Society Award Nominees

The 2020 nominees for the “Australian Fairy Tale Society Annual Award for Inspiration and Contribution to Australian Fairy Tale Culture” have been released. As usual, we have looked through the list of nominees for this exclusively Australian award for New Zealanders.  Congratulations to Juliet Marillier for nabbing another Aussie nomination – I guess living there for a long time helps.

Awardwatch : Lee Murray is HWA Mentor of the Year

Wow, this is the third time we have mentioned Lee Murray in the Awardwatch section so far this year. That isn’t bias on our part, but a genuine reflection of just how much Lee has been contributing to our genre community. This time, she has been honoured by the Horror Writers Association with their Mentor of the Year Award as part of their 2019 service awards. I’m sure you agree with us that this is a richly deserved award and congratulate her for her achievement.

Awardwatch : 2019 Aurealis Awards shortlist

The 2019 Aurealis Awards shortlist has been released. As is our way, we have looked through the list of nominees for this exclusively Australian award for New Zealanders. So, congratulations to Juliet Marillier and Bren MacDibble. If you have spotted any others, let us know in the comments.

Fair play to the Aurealis organisers – both Kiwis are people who have lived and worked in Aussie for a long time. We all know of instances when Australians have tried to appropriate New Zealand artists and sportspeople based on their merely visiting for a bit. Nothing like that going on here.

Awardwatch : Lee Murray

The New Zealand Society of Authors Waitangi Day Honours have been announced and Lee Murray has been selected as one of this year’s Honorary Literary Fellows. She is one of just two fellows – alongside Rachael King. We highlight Lee, because of her huge involvement in SF/F/H in this country as well as her achievements as a writer. As far as we can tell, she is the first genre author to be so honoured.

Awardwatch : Australian Shadows 2018

The Australian Shadows awards are horror awards for Australasian writers. That means Kiwis are eligible. The 2018 awards were made over the weekend. Lee Murray and Dan Rabarts represented this side of the Tasman to both win awards (Edited Work and Short Fiction respectively).

Yet another shout out to Kaaron Warren, Geysercon Guest of Honour, for picking up another prize for Tide of Stones as well as being the subject for another award.

While we are talking about Kaaron, she also picked up the Peter McNamara Achievement Award for Lifetime Achievement and Contribution towards Australian Speculative Fiction at the Ditmar awards also held over the weekend. No Kiwis featuring in the Ditmars however this year.

Awardwatch : Locus Awards

Yes, it’s Kaaron Warren getting nominated again. This time it is her novel Tide of Stone being on the shortlist for a Locus award. The Locus awards are a big deal – ranking right up there as one of the major international awards, so huge congratulations to Kaaron.

It hardly bears repeating but we will anyway – Kaaron is an International Guest of Honour at Geysercon, the NZ Natcon over QB weekend (31 May – 2 Jun) in Rotorua.

SJV Nominations Close in One Week

The nomination period for the 2019 Sir Julius Vogel Awards will close at 8.00 pm on 30 March 2019. That is just one week away, so please get your nominations in now.

The awards recognise excellence and achievement in science fiction, fantasy, or horror works created by New Zealanders and New Zealand residents, and first published or released in the 2018 calendar year. Full information about the awards, including links to the rules and other guidelines for the Sir Julius Vogel Award, can be found here.

The awards use a web-based nomination system. You can find the web form here. Anyone can make a nomination and it is free!

The awards will be presented at Geysercon – the 2019 National SF&F Convention.

Awardwatch : Bram Stoker Awards

Another kiwi in a major awards shortlist. This time it is the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards and the author in question is Lee Murray. And not just one shortlisting, but two! Lee has made the finals in the short fiction and the anthology categories.

Congratulations to Lee and all the Bram Stoker finalists.

Awardwatch : The Nebulas

Here at SFFANZ News, we like to keep an eye out for locals who make the finals for major awards, and there aren’t many more major than the Nebulas. If you look down the finalist list for the just announced 2018 awards, you will see the name M. Darusha Wehm in the Game Writing category. Darusha is originally from Canada but now lives in Wellington and takes part in local writing and fan activities – so properly local then!

Congratulations to Darusha and all the Nebula finalists.

Sir Julius Vogel Awards nominations for 2019 are now open

Nominations for the 2019 Sir Julius Vogel Awards are now being accepted. The nomination period will close at 8.00 pm on 30 March 2019. The awards recognise excellence and achievement in science fiction, fantasy, or horror works created by New Zealanders and New Zealand residents, and first published or released in the 2018 calendar year.

We are using a web-based system for nominations. You can find the web form here.

Full information about the awards, including links to the rules and other guidelines for the Sir Julius Vogel Award, can be found here.

Anyone can make a nomination and it is free! Get busy reading NZ authors and watching NZ movies to find work to nominate. The awards will be presented at Geysercon – the 2019 National SF&F Convention.

NZ writer makes award history

Congraulations to Bren MacDibble -a New Zealand author who has lived in Australia for two decades – for winning two categories with two different books in the same year at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

MacDibble’s How to Bee, which won the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction, describes a dystopian future without bees where children perform the essential task of pollination. Judges said it was a tale to fire young readers with awareness and courage for the future.

They also heaped praise on In the Dark Spaces, written under the pseudonym Cally Black, which saw MacDibble claim the Copyright Licensing Award for Young Adult Fiction. Judges said it was a high-concept science fiction novel and an impressive tale of world class calibre.

Story here.

Final Ballot nominees for 2018 Sir Julius Vogel Awards

The Sir Julius Vogel Award sub-committee is pleased to announce finalists for the 2018 Sir Julius Vogel Awards

The awards will be presented at Conclave3, to be held over Easter weekend this year.

A full list of nominated works will be available on our website shortly.

Worldcon 75 announces 2017 Hugo and Campbell Award Winners

Worldcon 75 is pleased to announce the Hugo winners for 2017.

The Hugo Award, first presented in 1953, celebrates the best in the field of science fiction and fantasy. 3,319 voters made their selection from the final ballot, the third-highest number in the history of the award.

This year’s Hugo base was designed by Eeva Jokinen, a Finnish ceramics artist.

Best Novel

The Obelisk Gate, by N. K. Jemisin (Orbit Books)

Best Novella

Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com publishing)

Best Novelette

“The Tomato Thief”, by Ursula Vernon (Apex Magazine, January 2016)

Best Short Story

“Seasons of Glass and Iron”, by Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales, Saga Press)

Best Related Work

Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books, 2000-2016, by Ursula K. Le Guin (Small Beer)

Best Graphic Story

Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening, written by Marjorie Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda (Image)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)

Arrival, screenplay by Eric Heisserer based on a short story by Ted Chiang, directed by Denis Villeneuve (21 Laps Entertainment/FilmNation Entertainment/Lava Bear Films)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)

The Expanse: “Leviathan Wakes”, written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, directed by Terry McDonough (SyFy)

Best Editor – Short Form

Ellen Datlow

Best Editor – Long Form

Liz Gorinsky

Best Professional Artist

Julie Dillon

Best Semiprozine

Uncanny Magazine, edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, Julia Rios, and podcast produced by Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky

Best Fanzine

Lady Business, edited by Clare, Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay, and Susan

Best Fancast

Tea and Jeopardy, presented by Emma Newman with Peter Newman

Best Fan Writer

Abigail Nussbaum

Best Fan Artist

Elizabeth Leggett

Best Series

The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Ada Palmer (1st year of eligibility)

Sir Julius Vogel Awards 2017 Finalists

The finalists for the 2016 Sir Julius Vogel awards have now been announced. You can find full information on Finalists here.