BEST NOVEL

“Fragments of a Broken Land: Valarl Undead” by Robert Hood (Wildside Press)

BEST NOVELLA OR NOVELETTE

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

BEST SHORT STORY

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

BEST COLLECTED WORK

“The Bride Price” by Cat Sparks (Ticonderoga Publications)

BEST ARTWORK

“Rules of Summer” by Shaun Tan (Hachette Australia)

BEST FAN WRITER

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

BEST FAN ARTIST

Kathleen Jennings, for body of work.

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

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

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For Edited Publication:

MIDNIGHT ECHO 9, BY GEOFF BROWN
A KILLER AMONG DEMONS, BY CRAIG BEZANT
BABY TEETH – BITE SIZED TALES OF TERROR, BY DAN RABARTS AND LEE MURRAY
STAR QUAKE 1, BY SOPHIE YORKSTON

For Collected Works:

This year, there is no shortlist. In 7 days, the winner will be announced.
(No, this makes no sense to us, either.)

For Short Fiction:

NIP, TUCK, ZIP, PLUCK, BY JOHN PAUL FITCH
FENCE LINES, BY JOANNE ANDERTON
THE NEST, BY C.S. MCMULLEN
CATERPILLARS, BY DEBBIE COWENS
THE DEAD WAY, BY JC HART

For the PAUL HAINES SHADOWS AWARD for LONG FICTION:

SOUL KILLER, BY ROBERT HOOD
THE HOME FOR BROKEN DOLLS, BY KIRSTYN MCDERMOTT
THE UNWANTED WOMEN OF SURREY, BY KAARON WARREN

For Novel:

UNDEAD KELLY, BY TIMOTHY BOWDEN
TOPSIDERS, BY SCOTT TYSON
809 JACOB STREET, BY MARTY YOUNG

Congratulations to all the nominees. The winners will be announced in 7 days.

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In keeping with the Notions Unlimited Bookshop philosophy of building Community – both around the shop itself, and putting our customers in touch with the wider Australian genre community – we’re looking at holding a Genre Community Open Day at some point over the next month or so, where our customers can meet with people representing genre-themed products, businesses and events, and learn more about what going on out there.

So: if you’re involved with organising an upcoming sci-fi convention, or are in the process of marketing a short horror film, or publish fantasy fiction, or are making and selling dragon figurines in your spare time, we want to hear from you! Once we have an idea of numbers of potential exhibitors, we’ll be able to let people know about dates, times and costs*.

Contact Chuck at info@notionsunlimitedbookshop or on (03) 9773-1102.

* Costs are likely to be minimal, with a token amount payable by exhibitors to cover hire of tables for the day, etc. Full details will be made available asap.

$30,000 FELLOWSHIP TO SUPPORT NSW WRITERS

Minister for the Arts, George Souris, today called on NSW-based writers to apply for the 2014 NSW Writer’s Fellowship, worth $30,000.

Mr Souris said the fellowship would support a program of professional development for established or mid-career professional writers of fiction, literary non-fiction, children’s and young adult literature, poetry, scripts for performance, literary digital and new media work, and graphic novels.

“This fellowship is being offered as part of the NSW Government’s ongoing support for the professional growth of NSW-based writers,” Mr Souris said.

“The fellowship will provide the writer with new opportunities to progress in their writing career. The money can be used to support national and international travel, mentorships, internships, residencies, short-term workshops, courses and training, research and the creation of new work.

“This is an exciting opportunity for NSW’s talented writers. I particularly encourage writers living in regional communities to apply for the fellowship.”

Mr Souris said the fellowship winner will also have the opportunity to participate in one of two residencies on offer from the State Library of NSW and the City of Sydney.

“The State Library of NSW is offering a residency for up to 12 months including a dedicated desk in the Fellow’s Room, as well as introductions to the Library’s collections experts to assist in their research. The writer will undertake a public engagement about their work during or after the residency, and contribute an article to the Library’s SL Magazine on an aspect of their project.“

The City of Sydney is offering a residency for up to 12 months including studio space and access to places to work in its extensive library network. As part of this residency the writer will undertake a public engagement, such as a talk, reading, question and answer session, workshop or blog.”

The 2014 NSW Writer’s Fellowship is offered by Arts NSW. Applications close on Monday, March 17, 2014. An independent peer assessment panel will assess the applications. The winner of the fellowship will be announced in May 2014.

Further information on the Fellowship can be found at www.arts.nsw.gov.au

Media contact:Hugh Cavill 0408 235 997

Every year, the NSW Readers Advisory Working Group in collaboration with the State Library of New South Wales runs a seminar on a different literary genre, as part of their Public Library Services. These events are attended by librarians from all parts of New South Wales. They aim to enhance their ability to advise and assist readers who are interested in that kind of fiction.

This year, it’s horror, and attendees have been asked to read at least one horror story, with suggestions encompassing the classics as well as more recent works by Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman and Kelly Link. “I was surprised to find that I’d already read more horror than I’d thought,” says co-coordinator Ellen Forsyth.

The State Library has liaised with the Australian Horror Writer’s Association to provide an intriguingly varied program. Kaaron Warren, multi-award-winning author of the likes of Slights and The Grinding House will prove that horror writers are quite nice people really, with serious things to say about the world. Author, actor and long-time State library member Kyla Lee Ward will discuss how libraries and horror writers can assist each other, and the work of the AHWA and its American counterpart.

With local stalwart Keith Whelan presenting on writing horror and Becky Siegel (author of The Readers Advisory Guide to Horror) skyping in from Illinois, this promises to be a lively and surprising day, with the potential to create ongoing links between writers and what is now more than ever, the vital gateway of the library.

Horror at the Metcalfe
Public Library Services
Wednesday, 12 March 2014 from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM (EST)
Sydney, NSW

Attendance is limited to professional librarians, but AHWA members interested in putting themselves forward for library visits are asked to contact Kyla on kylaw [@] tabula-rasa.info

When: FRIDAY, 30 MAY 2014
Venue: City of Greater Dandenong Civic Centre and Library,
225 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong,
Victoria

Speakers include Kevin Burgemeestre, Gary Crew, Meredith Costain, Tom Danby, Leigh Hobbs, Tristan Bancks, and Deborah Abela.

Features of the day include specialist bookstalls, lively discussions and debates, lucky door prizes, networking opportunities with like-minded colleagues, 10% discount vouchers valid for all of 2014 from INT BOOKS, and much more.

Registration forms and further information can be found at: http://www.fordstreetpublishing.com/cnet/images/stories/downloads/keeping-books-alive-2014.pdf

With the release of WOLF CREEK 2 due next month in Australian cinemas, Notions Unlimited Bookshop is proud to present the following event, to celebrate the release of Penguin’s WOLF CREEK prequel novel series:

Aaron Sterns (writer of WOLF CREEK 2, and co-author, with Greg McLean, of WOLF CREEK : ORIGIN), and Brett McBean (co-author, with Greg McLean, of WOLF CREEK : DESOLATION GAME) will be signing copies of their respective novels in-store.

Venue: Notions Unlimited Bookshop, 426 Nepean Hwy, Chelsea
Date: Saturday 1st Feb 2014
Time: Starts 4pm

Wine & Nibbles – plus some bloody surprises! – provided on the night.

This will be a FREE event, but space is strictly limited, so do please contact us to book your place.

info@notionsunlimitedbookshop.com  /  03-9773-1102

When: 13-24 Feb, 2014
Where: Eros & Thanatos Rooms, MONA (Museum of Old and New Art)
651-655 Main Rd, Hobart

In February, the team behind the Emerging Writers’ Festival is going to round up several dozen of the world’s best writers, readers, and publishing types for a series of live-streamed online discussions about the future of all things bookish.

The majority of Digital Writers’ Festival events will be streamed live on the digitalwritersfestival.com website at no charge, enabling readers and writers from across Australia to participate in conversations with artists and peers located interstate and overseas.

The Digital Writers’ Conference will equip writers with new ideas and inspiration about how to share their stories and words with audiences online. Panel discussions full of practical advice will explore how to write for online audiences and where the opportunities are in the digital space. Writers’ will share with you how they use new technologies to create and promote their work online. Most importantly there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions!

With Bethanie Blanchard (Crikey, The Guardian), Fiona Dunne (Seizure), Rachel Edwards, Kelly Lee Hickey, Matthew Lamb (Island), Benjamin Laird, Kate McKenzie, Jennifer Mills, Connor Tomas O’Brien (Tomely.com), Zora Sanders (Meanjin), Jacinda Woodhead (Overland) and more.

For more details, or to register, please visit http://www.emergingwritersfestival.org.au/event-detail/digital-writers-conference-early-bird-tickets/

About the Emerging Writers’ Festival
The Emerging Writers’ Festival is an independent arts organisation based in Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas. They exist in order to promote the interests of emerging writers – to improve their opportunities for professional development as well as their engagement with the broader public.

Each year the Emerging Writers’ Festival brings writers, editors, publishers and literary performers together with the reading public for a festival that is an essential part of Australia’s literary calendar.

Paul Mannering (TANKBREAD, TANKBREAD 2: IMMORTAL) has a new SHTF* apocalypse novel under contract with Permuted Press.

“Dead! Dead! Dead!” is the story of an ageing biker who finds himself on the run with an ER doctor after a shipment of contaminated cocaine turns the city’s junkies into contagious cannibals.

This is Mannering’s fourth novel with Permuted Press, and will be published in 2015.

*SHTF = Shit Hits The Fan – an outbreak scenario, be it alien invasion, deadly flu, civil war – anything that triggers a change in civilisation.

*

Martin Livings (CARNIES, LIVING WITH THE DEAD) has just sold his short story “El Caballo Muerte” to Permuted Press’s upcoming Fat Zombie anthology.

Fat Zombie is an anthology of unexpected survivor stories from the apocalypse.

The collection will include stories that tell the tale of the losers, the geeks, the freaks and the sad-sacks. It could also include stories of the differently abled, or anyone lacking skills, physical ability, education, resources so common in many zombie survival stories.

These are the survivor stories of the people you never expected to survive the end of the world.

Coming soon from Permuted Press.

(and by worst, of course, I mean best…)

What We’re After: Horror stories, tales that frighten, yarns that unsettle us in our comfortable homes. All themes in this genre will be accepted, from the well-used (zombies, vampires, ghosts etc) to the highly original, so long as the story is professional and well written. No previously published entries will be accepted – all tales must be an original work by the author. Stories can be as violent or as bloody as the storyline dictates, but those containing gratuitous sex or violence will not be considered.

There are two categories for submission:

FLASH FICTION
Stories up to 1000 words in length. The winning author will receive paid publication in Midnight Echo; The Magazine of the AHWA and an engraved plaque.

SHORT STORY
Stories with 1001 to 8000 words. The winning author will receive paid publication in Midnight Echo; The Magazine of the AHWA and an engraved plaque.

ENTRY DETAILS

• Entries Open: January 7th 2014
• Entries Close: May 31st 2014

Writers may submit to one or both categories, but entry is limited to 1 story per author per category. No simultaneous submissions.

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Prizes: the authors of the winning Flash Fiction and Short Story entries will each receive paid publication in Midnight Echo; The Magazine of the AHWA and an engraved plaque. Plus the adulation of millions.

(Legal note: your value of “millions” may vary. And “adulation”.)

Entry Fee:

• AHWA Members have free entry.
• Non-AHWA Members: $5 for flash fiction, $10 for short story entries.

Secure payments can be made via PayPal using our PayPal ID (please note, this is different to the competitions email address!):

ahwa@australianhorror.com

Alternative payment options are available; please contact us at ahwacomps@australianhorror.com and we will provide appropriate details.

All entries should be submitted via the web form here:

http://ahwacomps.martinlivings.com/

Mail submissions will ONLY be accepted as a last resort (we would prefer electronic submissions to save the trees); please contact us before sending anything through.

Please edit your manuscripts carefully before sending them through to us; it’s amazing how much careless typos or grammatical errors can put a reader off, so don’t go shooting yourself in the foot, let the story come through unhindered!

Also, please ensure your manuscript is formatted in standard manuscript format. The best thing to do is use the RTF template provided here:

http://ahwacomps.martinlivings.com/AWHAtemplate.rtf

Stories not using this format may be discarded without being considered, so please do use this template. You’ll make our lives easier, and increase your own chances of being judged fairly.

Contact ahwacomps@australianhorror.com if you have any further questions.

2014 Judges

PAUL MANNERING is an award winning author based in Wellington, New Zealand. He has published dozens of short stories, and edited two themed anthologies. His Tankbread trilogy is published by Permuted Press and he has two more novels scheduled for publication in 2014. http://permutedpress.com/authors/paul-mannering

TALIE HELENE is a writer and musician, from Melbourne, Australia. She has published fiction, poetry, and an extensive folio of music journalism. She is perhaps best well known as horror editor of The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror series (Ticonderoga Publications). You can learn more about Talie’s interdisciplinary adventures at http://www.taliehelene.com

ZENA SHAPTER is a British-Australian author who’s won seven national fiction writing competitions (including this one!). She’s also represented by literary agent Alex Adsett, leads the widely attended Northern Beaches Writers’ Group (whose collaborative writing has also won awards) and gives regular talks/tutorials on creative writing and social media (because, after all, she is part-cyber!).  http://www.zenashapter.com