| Aurealis Award for best children's fiction | |
| Awarded For: | Excellence in children's speculative fiction |
| Presenter: | Chimaera Publications, Continuum Foundation |
| Country: | Australia |
| Year: | 2013 (merging two previous categories) |
| Holder: | Karen Foxlee |
| Website: | Official site |
The Aurealis Awards are presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications and WASFF to published works in order to "recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy, horror writers".[1] To qualify, a work must have been first published by an Australian citizen or permanent resident between 1 January and 31 December of the corresponding year;[2] the presentation ceremony is held the following year. It has grown from a small function of around 20 people to a two-day event attended by over 200 people.[3]
Since their creation in 1995, awards have been given in various categories of speculative fiction. Categories currently include science fiction, fantasy, horror, speculative young adult fiction—with separate awards for novels and short fiction—collections, anthologies, illustrative works or graphic novels, children's books, and an award for excellence in speculative fiction.[1] The awards have attracted the attention of publishers by setting down a benchmark in science fiction and fantasy. The continued sponsorship by publishers such as HarperCollins and Orbit has identified the award as an honour to be taken seriously.[4]
The results are decided by a panel of judges from a list of submitted nominees; the long-list of nominees is reduced to a short-list of finalists.[1] Ties can occur if the panel decides both entries show equal merit, however they are encouraged to choose a single winner.[5] The judges may declare a "no award" if there is unanimous agreement that none of the nominees are worthy.[5] The judges are selected from a public application process by the Award's management team.[6]
This article lists all the short-list nominees and winners in the best children's fiction category which replaces the following two previous categories for children's fiction:
In 2013, this award was known as the Aurealis Award for best children's book.
In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the work's eligibility; the ceremonies are always held the following year. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature" article. Entries with a blue background have won the award; those with a white background are the nominees on the short-list. If the work was originally published in a book with other stories rather than by itself or in a magazine, the book title is included after the publisher's name.
As of the 2021 awards, which were presented in May 2022, the following have received the most nominations:
Winners and joint winners
Nominees on the shortlist
| Year | Author(s) | Work(s) | Publisher | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [7] [8] | ||||
| Kingdom of the Lost, book 2: Cloud Road | ||||
| Refuge | ||||
| Song for a scarlet runner | ||||
| Rules of Summer | ||||
| Icebreaker: The Hidden 1 | ||||
| Shadow Sister: Dragonkeeper 5 | [9] | |||
| Slaves of Socorro: Brotherband 4 | ||||
| Ophelia and the Marvellous Boy | ||||
| & James Foley | ||||
| Withering-by-Sea | ||||
| Sunker's Deep | ||||
| Bella and the Wandering House | ||||
| When the Lyrebird Calls | ||||
| Blueberry Pancakes Forever | ||||
| Magrit | ||||
| Somebody Stop Ivy Pocket | ||||
| Nevermoor | ||||
| How to Bee | ||||
| Accidental Heroes | ||||
| Allen & Unwin | ||||
| Secret Guardians | ||||
| Ting Ting the Ghosthunter | ||||
| Ottilie Cotter and the Narroway Hunt | ||||
| The Dog Runner | [10] | |||
| Scorch Dragons | [11] | |||
| Race for the Red Dragon | ||||
| (with Sharon O'Connor, illustrator) | Jinxed! the Curious Curse of Cora Bell | |||
| (with Marc McBride, illustrator) | The Glimme | |||
| The Lost Stone of SkyCity | ||||
| The Lost Soul Atlas | Lothian | [12] [13] | ||
| Tricky Nick | Pan | |||
| Across the Risen Sea | Allen & Unwin | |||
| The Chicken's Curse | Allen & Unwin | |||
| (with Dustin Spence, illustrator) | Hodgepodge: How to make a pet monster | Allen & Unwin | ||
| Her Perilous Mansion | Allen & Unwin | |||
| Dragon Skin | Allen & Unwin | [14] [15] [16] | ||
| The Boy Who Stepped Through Time | Allen & Unwin | |||
| Stellarphant | Fremantle | |||
| & Phil Lesnie | The Curiosities | Hachette Australia | ||
| & Nova Weetman | Elsewhere Girls | Text | ||
| Barebum Billy | BAD DAD | |||
| The Wintrish Girl | UQP | [17] | ||
| Gus and the Starlight | HarperCollins | |||
| (with Frieda Chui, illustrator) | The Wrath of the Woolington Wym | Allen & Unwin | ||
| & | The Raven's Song | Allen & Unwin | ||
| The Goodbye Year | Text | |||
| Mars Awakens | Allen & Unwin |