Dragons in the Metcalfe - #ra2011 - part two

Dragons in the Metcalfe exposed public library staff to some interesting speakers.

Following on from Brent Weeks, Rowena Specht-Whyte - @Rowena-SW - spoke to us next about her role as an Aurealis Awards judge and #specfic (Speculative Fiction / Fantasy) in particular. The Aurealis Awards were established in 1995 by Chimaera Publications specifically “to recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers”. The awards cover five categories: science fiction, fantasy, horror, young adult, and children’s fiction (ages 8-12 years, added in 2001). The YA and children's categories cover works in all three speculative fiction genres. These categories each have two separate awards, one for novels and one for short fiction. To qualify an author must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and have published an appropriate title during the set period (currently 1st Nov through to 31st Dec of the following year). It is up to the judges’ discretion as to which category a book fits into.

So what does an Aurealis judge look for in a Fantasy novel?
· World building
· Character
· Supernatural / ‘fantastic’ element
· Consistency


Some winning authors:

· Sara Douglass
· Isobelle Carmody
· Juliet Marillier
· Garth Nix
· Traci Harding
· Patricia Wrightson
· Sean Williams
· Kim Wilkins
· etc
· etc
· etc



Rowena is a passionate reader whose enthusiam was an inspiration for everyone!