Australian Shadows Awards Explained

Australian Shadows Awards
Awarded For:	Excellence in horror fiction
Presenter:	Australian Horror Writers Association
Country:	Australia
Location:	Australia
Year:	2005
Website:	Australasian Horror

The Australian Shadows Awards, also known as the Australasian Shadows Awards, are annual literary awards established by the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) in 2005 to honour the best published works of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian/New Zealand/Oceania resident in the previous calendar year.

Awards criteria and history

Works are judged on their overall effect within the horror genre based on the author's skill, delivery, and the work's lasting resonance. Each year, a director is appointed by the AHWA to administer the award. Shortlists for each category are determined by a panel of judges, and the shortlisted nominees are announced in March/April every year.

From 2005 to 2008, the Australian Shadows Award evaluated novels, anthologies, and short stories against each other in a single category. In 2009, the award was expanded into three categories: Short Fiction, Long Fiction, and Edited Publication.

From 2011, the award was restructured to consist of five categories: Novel; Long Fiction (novellas and novelettes); Short Fiction (short stories); Collection (single author collections); and Edited Publication (anthologies and magazine issues). In 2013, the 'Long Fiction' award category was renamed 'Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction' in honour of New Zealand/Australian author Paul Haines.

The Australian Shadows Awards were sponsored by Altair Australia Books in its first two years, through the donation of two statuettes created by dark fantasy artist Brom (supplied by The Franklin Mint). Currently, winners of the awards receive a hand crafted trophy from the masters of the horror special effects industry, Nightshade FX.

Winners and nominees

In the below list, the years correspond to the year of the book's eligibility; the awards are always announced the following year. If the short story was originally published in an anthology with other stories rather than by itself or in a magazine, the anthology title and anthology publisher's name is included.

2005

Judges

• Guest judge: Kim Wilkins
• Award Director: Marty Young

Winner

• "Father Muerte and the Flesh", Lee Battersby, Aurealis #36

Nominees

• "Pater Familias", Lee Battersby, Shadowed Realms #3
• Shadow Box, Shane Jiraiya Cummings & Angela Challis (eds) (Brimstone Press)
• "The Red Priest's Homecoming", Dirk Flinthart, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #17
• The Grinding House, Kaaron Warren (CSFG Publishing)

2006

Judges

• Judging panel: David Schembri, Miranda Siemienowicz, Mark Smith-Briggs
• Guest judge: Robert Hood
• Award Director: Marty Young

Winner

• The Pilo Family Circus, Will Elliott (ABC Books)

Nominees

• "Father Renoir's Hands", Lee Battersby, Through Soft Air (Prime Books)
• "The Dying Light", Deborah Biancotti, Eidolon I (Eidolon Books)
• "The Blow-Off", Stephen Dedman, Brutarian #47
• "The Bridal Bier", Carol Ryles, Eidolon I (Eidolon Books)

Honourable mentions

• "Silk and Pearls", K. J. Bishop, Shadowed Realms #9
• "The Cup of Nestor", Simon Brown (Ticonderoga Publications)
• , Terry Dowling (Cemetery Dance Publications)
• The Mother, Brett McBean (Lothian Books)

2007

Judges

• Judging panel: Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Gary Kemble, Mark Smith-Briggs
• Guest judge: Richard Harland
• Award Director: Kirstyn McDermott

Winner

• "Toother", Terry Dowling, Eclipse 1 (Night Shade Books)

Nominees

• "Between the Memories", Matthew Chrulew, Aurealis #38/39
• "Subtle Invasion", David Conyers, The Black Book of Horror (Mortbury Press)
• "The Dark and What It Said", Rick Kennett, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #28
• "There Was Darkness", Martin Livings, Fantastic Wonder Stories (Ticonderoga Publications)
• The Darkness Within, Jason Nahrung (Hachette Livre)

Honourable mentions

• The Spiraling Worm, David Conyers & John Sunseri (Chaosium)
• "Cooling the Crows", Kaaron Warren, In Bad Dreams (Eneit Press)
• "The Wildflowers", Marty Young, Fantastic Wonder Stories (Ticonderoga Publications)

2008

Judges

• Judging panel: Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Brett McBean, Chuck McKenzie
• Guest judge: Sarah Endacott
• Award Director: Kirstyn McDermott

Winner

• "The Claws of Native Ghosts", Lee Battersby, The Beast Within (Graveside Books)

Nominees

• "This Way To The Exit", Sara Douglass, Dreaming Again (HarperVoyager)
• "Rick Gets A Job", Jason Fischer, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #37
• "Lakeside", Christopher Green, Dreaming Again (HarperVoyager)
• "Her Collection of Intimacy", Paul Haines, Black: Australian Dark Culture #2

2009

Judges

• Judging panel: Craig Bezant, Stephanie Gunn, Chuck McKenzie
• Guest judges: Bill Congreve (Short Fiction), James Doig (Edited Publication), Martin Livings (Long Fiction)
• Award Director: Shane Jiraiya Cummings

Long fiction

Winner

• Slights, Kaaron Warren (Angry Robot)

Nominees

• A Book of Endings, Deborah Biancotti (Twelfth Planet Press)
• Red Queen, Honey Brown (Penguin Australia)
• "Wives", Paul Haines, X6 (Coeur de Lion Publishing)
• The Dead Path, Stephen M. Irwin (Hachette Australia)

Edited Publication

Winner

• Grants Pass, Jennifer Brozek & Amanda Pillar (Morrigan Books)

Nominees

• Festive Fear, Stephen Clark (Tasmaniac Publications)
• Aurealis #42, Stuart Mayne (Chimaera Publications)

Short fiction

Winner

• "Six Suicides", Deborah Biancotti, A Book of Endings (Twelfth Planet Press)

Nominees

• "The Emancipated Dance", Felicity Dowker, Midnight Echo #2
• "Busking", Jason Fischer, Midnight Echo #3
• "The Message", Andrew J. McKiernan, Midnight Echo #2
• "The Gaze Dogs of Nine Waterfalls", Kaaron Warren, Exotic Gothic 3, Ash-Tree Press

2010

Judges

• Judging panel: Craig Bezant, Stephanie Gunn, Jeff Ritchie
• Guest judges: Kaaron Warren (Short Fiction), Rocky Wood (Edited Publication), Chuck McKenzie (Long Fiction)
• Award Director: Shane Jiraiya Cummings

Long fiction

Winner

• Under Stones, Bob Franklin (Affirm Press)

Nominees

• Bleed, Peter M. Ball (Twelfth Planet Press)
• Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healy (Allen & Unwin)
• Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott (Picador Australia)
• The Girl With No Hands, Angela Slatter (Ticonderoga Publications)

Edited Publication

Winner

• Macabre: A Journey through Australia's Darkest Fears, Angela Challis & Marty Young (eds) (Brimstone Press)

Nominees

• Midnight Echo #4, Lee Battersby (ed) (Australian Horror Writers Association)
• Scary Kisses, Liz Grzyb (ed) (Ticonderoga Publications)
• Scenes From the Second Storey, Amanda Pillar & Pete Kempshall (eds) (Morrigan Books)

Short fiction

Winner

• "She Said", Kirstyn McDermott, Scenes from the Second Storey (Morrigan Books)

Nominees

• "Bread and Circuses", Felicity Dowker, Scary Kisses (Ticonderoga Publications)
• "Brisneyland by Night", Angela Slatter, Sprawl (Twelfth Planet Press)
• "All The Clowns In Clowntown", Andrew J. McKiernan, Macabre: A Journey through Australia's Darkest Fears (Brimstone Press)
• "Dream Machine", David Conyers, Scenes from the Second Storey (Morrigan Books)

2011

Judges

• Judging panel: Marty Young, James A. Moore

Novel

Winner

• No award

Honourable mention

• The Broken Ones, Stephen M. Irwin (Random House)

Long fiction

Winner

• "The Past is a Bridge Best Left Burnt", Paul Haines, The Last Days of Kali Yuga (Brimstone Press)

Nominees

• "And the Dead Shall Outnumber the Living", Deborah Biancotti, Ishtar (Gilgamesh Press)
• "Sleeping and the Dead", Cat Sparks, Ishtar (Gilgamesh Press)
• "From the Teeth of Strange Children", Lisa L. Hannett, Bluegrass Symphony (Ticonderoga Publications)

Short fiction

Winner

• "Shovel Man Joe", Amanda J. Spedding, Shades of Sentience

Nominees

• "Out Hunting for Teeth", Joanne Anderton, Midnight Echo #6
• "The Sea at Night", Joanne Anderton, Dead Red Heart (Ticonderoga Publications)
• "Taking It for the Team", Tracie McBride, Dead Red Heart (Ticonderoga Publications)
• "The Wanderer in Darkness", Andrew J. McKiernan, Midnight Echo #6

Edited Publication

Winner

• Dead Red Heart, Russell B. Farr (ed) (Ticonderoga Publications)

Nominees

• More Scary Kisses, Liz Grzyb (ed) (Ticonderoga Publications)
• Midnight Echo #6, David Kernot, David Conyers and Jason Fischer (eds) (Australian Horror Writers Association)
• The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene (eds) (Ticonderoga Publications)

Collection

Winner

• Tales of Sin and Madness, Brett McBean (Thunderstorm Books/Legume Man Books)

Nominees

• Bluegrass Symphony, Lisa L. Hannett (Ticonderoga Publications)
• The Last Days of Kali Yuga, Paul Haines (Brimstone Press)
• Matilda Told Such Dreadful Lies, Lucy Sussex (Ticonderoga Publications)
• Apocrypha Sequence, Shane Jiraiya Cummings (self-published)

2012

Judges

• Short Stories/Collections/Edited Works panel: Steve Gerlach, Greg Chapman, Stephen Clark
• Novels/Novellas panel: Gerry Huntman, Jenny Blackford, B. Michael Radburn

Novel

Winner

• Perfections, Kirstyn McDermott (Xoum Publishing)

Nominees

• The Corpse Rat King, Lee Battersby (Angry Robot Books)
• Blood and Dust, Jason Nahrung (Xoum Publishing)

Long fiction

Winner

• "Sky", Kaaron Warren, Through Splintered Walls (Twelfth Planet Press)

Nominees

• "Critique", Daniel I. Russell (Dark Continents Publishing)
• "Escena de un Asesinato", Robert Hood, Exotic Gothic 4 (PS Publishing)

Short fiction

Winner

• "Birthday Suit", Martin Livings, Living with the Dead (Dark Prints Press)

Nominees

• "To Wish On A Clockwork Heart", Felicity Dowker, Bread and Circuses (Ticonderoga Publications)
• "Pigroot Flat", Jason Fischer, Midnight Echo #8
• "Birthday Suit", Martin Livings, Living with the Dead (Dark Prints Press)
• "They Don't Know That We Know What They Know", Andrew J. McKiernan, Midnight Echo #8
• "Creek", Kaaron Warren, Through Splintered Walls (Twelfth Planet Press)
• "Mountain", Kaaron Warren, Through Splintered Walls (Twelfth Planet Press)
• "Road", Kaaron Warren, Through Splintered Walls (Twelfth Planet Press)
• "A Monstrous Touch", Marty Young, Dangers Untold (Alliteration Ink)

Edited Publication

Winner

• Surviving The End, Craig Bezant (Dark Prints Press)

Nominees

• Cthulhu Unbound 3, David Conyers and Brian M. Sammons (eds) (Permuted Press)
• The Year's Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene (eds) (Ticonderoga Publications)

Collection

Winner

• Through Splintered Walls, Kaaron Warren (Twelfth Planet Press)

Nominees

• Bread and Circuses, Felicity Dowker (Ticonderoga Publications)
• Living With The Dead, Martin Livings (Dark Prints Press)

2013

Judges

• Short Stories/Collections/Edited Works panel: Steve Gerlach, Gitte Christensen, Lee Pletzers
• Novels/Novellas panel: Gerry Huntman, Geoff Brown, Chuck McKenzie

Novel

Winner

• 809 Jacob Street, Marty Young (Black Beacon Books)

Nominees

• Undead Kelly, Timothy Bowden (Severed Press)
• Topsiders, Scott Tyson (Legume Man Books)

Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• "The Unwanted Women of Surrey", Kaaron Warren, Queen Victoria's Book of Spells (Tor Books)

Nominees

• "Soul Killer", Robert Hood, Zombies vs Robots: Diplomacy (IDW Publishing)
• "The Home For Broken Dolls", Kirstyn McDermott, Caution: Contains Small Parts (Twelfth Planet Press)

Short fiction

Winner

• "Caterpillars", Debbie Cowens, Baby Teeth - Bite Sized Tales of Terror (Paper Road Press)

Nominees

• "Nip, Tuck, Zip, Pluck", John Paul Fitch, Psychopomp Volume 4 (Artifice Comics)
• "Fence Lines", Joanne Anderton, The Bone Chime Song and other stories (FableCroft Publishing)
• "The Nest", C. S. McMullen, Nightmare Magazine #12
• "The Dead Way", J. C. Hart, Baby Teeth - Bite Sized Tales of Terror (Paper Road Press)

Edited Publication

Winner

• Baby Teeth - Bite Sized Tales of Terror, Dan Rabarts and Lee Murray (eds) (Paper Road Press)

Nominees

• Midnight Echo #9, Geoff Brown (ed) (Australian Horror Writers Association)
• A Killer Among Demons, Craig Bezant (ed) (Dark Prints Press)
• Star Quake 1, Sophie Yorkston (ed) (IFWG Publishing)

Collection

Winner

• The Bone Chime Song and other stories, Jo Anderton (FableCroft Publishing)

Nominees

• There was no nominee shortlist in 2013.

2014

Judges

• Short Stories/Collections/Edited Works panel: Christine Ferdinands, Natalie Satakovski, B. R. de Loryn
• Novels/Novellas panel: Jay Caselberg (novellas only), Kathy Williams-DeVries, Lee Pletzers, B. R. de Loryn

Novel

Winner

• Wolf Creek: Origin, Aaron Sterns and Greg McLean (Penguin)

Nominees

• Suicide Forest, Jeremy Bates (Ghillinnein Books)
• Book of the Dead, Greig Beck (Momentum Books)
• Dark Deceit, Lauren Dawes (Momentum Books)
• Davey Ribbon, Matthew Tait (HodgePodge Press)

Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• Dreams of Destruction, Shane Jiraiya Cummings (self-published)

Nominees

• Ghost Camera, Darcy Coates (self-published)
• "The Shark God Covenant", Robert Hood, Dimension6 #3

Short fiction

Winner

• "Shadows of the Lonely Dead", Alan Baxter, Suspended in Dusk (Books of the Dead Press)

Nominees

• "Mephisto", Alan Baxter, Daily Science Fiction
• "Mummified Monk", Rebecca Fung, Daylight Dims Volume 2
• "Bones", Michelle Jager, SQ Mag #14
• "Last Year When We Were Young", Andrew J. McKiernan, Last Year When We Were Young (Satalyte Publishing)

Edited Publication

Winner

• SQ Mag #14, Sophie Yorkston (ed) (IFWG Publishing)

Nominees

• SNAFU, Geoff Brown and Amanda J. Spedding (eds) (Cohesion Press)
• Suspended in Dusk, Simon Dewar (ed) (Books of the Dead Press)

Collection

Winner

• Last Year When We Were Young, Andrew J. McKiernan (Satalyte Publishing)

Nominees

• There was no nominee shortlist in 2014.

2015

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• In Vaulted Halls Entombed, Alan Baxter

Nominees

• The Haunting of Gillespie House, Darcy Coates
• Night Shift, Dirk Flinthart
• The Whimper, Robert Hood

Edited works

Winner

• Blurring the Line, Marty Young

Nominees

• Bloodlines, Amanda Pillar
• Lighthouses, Cameron Trost
• Midnight Echo 11, Kaaron Warren

Collected works

Winner

• Peripheral Visions: The Collected Ghost Stories, Rob Hood

Nominees

• The Abandonment of Grace and Everything After, Shane Jiraiya Cummings
• Cherry Crow Children, Deborah Kalin

Short fiction

Winner

• "Mine Intercom", Kaaron Warren

Nominees

• "The Bone Maiden", Greg Chapman
• "Eight Seconds", Pandora Hope
• "El Caballo Muerte", Martin Livings
• "Perfect Little Stitches", Deborah Sheldon

Comics/Graphic Novels

Winner

• The Road to Golgotha, G. N. Braun & Amanda J. Spedding

Nominees

• Troll, Michael Michalandos
• The Monster, Ben Rosenthal
• Undad, Shane W. Smith

The Rocky Wood Award for Non-fiction and Criticism

Winner

• The Literary Gothic, Marija Elektra Rodriguez

Novels

Winner

• The Catacombs, Jeremy Bates

Nominees

• The Haunting of Blackwood House, Darcy Coates
• The Transgressions Cycle: The Mother, Mike Jones
• The Transgressions Cycle: The Reparation, Mike Jones
• The Big Smoke, Jason Nahrung

2016

Award Director: Claire Fitzpatrick

Short fiction

Winner

• "His Shining Day", Richard Harland (Dreaming in the Dark)

Nominees

• "D Is for Death", Pete Aldin (C is for Chimera)
• "Midnight in the Graffiti Tunnel", Terry Dowling (Dreaming in the Dark)
• "Protege", Anthony Ferguson (Monsters Among Us)
• "No Other Men in Mitchell", Rose Hartley (Nightmare 2/16)
• "Selfie", Lee Murray (SQ Mag 5/16)
• "What the Sea Wants", Deb Sheldon (SQ Mag 2/16)
• "Uncontainable", Helen Stubbs (Apex Magazine 12/16)
• "All Roll Over", Kaaron Warren (In Your Face)
• "Fade to Grey", Janeen Webb (Dreaming in the Dark)

Collected works

Winner

• Crow Shine, Alan Baxter (Ticonderoga)

Nominees

• Concentration, Jack Dann (PS)
• Everything Is Fine, Grant Stone (Racket House)

Edited Work

Winner

• Dead of Night, Shane Jiraiya Cummings, ed. (Australian Horror Writers Association)

Nominees

• Dreaming in the Dark, Jack Dann, ed. (PS Australia)
• At the Edg'e, Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray, eds. (Paper Road)

Novel

Winner

• The Grief Hole, Kaaron Warren (IFWG)

Nominees

• Hollow House, Greg Chapman (Omnium Gatherum)
• The Devil’s Prayer, Luke Gracias (self-published)
• Presumed Dead, Rick Kennett (self-published)
• The Invasion, Brett McBean (Sinister Grin)
• Into the Mist, Lee Murray (Cohesion)
• Unbidden, TJ Park (HarperImpulse)
• Devil Dragon, Deborah Sheldon (Severed)

Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• "Tipuna Tapu", Dan Rabarts (And Then…: The Great Big Book of Awesome Adventure Tales, Vol I)

Nominees

• "Box Of Bones", Jeremy Bates (Ghillinnein)
• "Served Cold", Alan Baxter (Dreaming in the Dark)
• "The Eschatologist", Greg Chapman (Voodoo)
• "The Heart of the Mission", Matthew R. Davis (Oz Horror Con)
• "Burnt Sugar", Kirstyn McDermott (Dreaming in the Dark)

2017

Award Director: J. Ashley Smith

The Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

• The Body Horror Book, Claire Fitzpatrick (Oscillate Wildly Press)

Nominees

• "101 Weird Writers #46 – Ryūnosuke Akutagawa", Kat Clay (Weird Fiction Review)
• Literary Serial Killer Fiction: The Evolution of a Genre, William Cook (Victoria University, Wellington NZ)
• It Follows is the Millennial STD Parable of Our Time, Maria Lewis (SBS)
• "A Shared Ambition: Horror Writers in Horror Fiction", Kyla Lee Ward (AHWA, Midnight Echo #12)

Written Work in a Comic/Graphic Novel

No award.

Edited Work

Winner

• Cthulhu Deep Down Under Volume 1, Steve Proposch, Christopher Sequeira & Bryce J. Stevens (IFWG Publishing)

Nominees

• Midnight Echo #12, Shane Jiraiya Cummings & Anthony P. Ferguson (AHWA)
• Below the Stairs – Tales from the Cellar, Steven Dillon (Things in the Well)

Collected Work

Winner

• Perfect Little Stitches and Other Stories, Deborah Sheldon (IFWG Publishing)

Nominees

• Singing My Sister Down and Other Stories, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)

Short fiction

Winner

• "The Banksia Boys", Matthew J. Morrison (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #66)

Nominees

• "Outside a Drifter", Lisa L. Hannett (Looming Low Vol.1, Dim Shores Press)
• "The Hand Walker", Rue Karney (Pacific Monsters, Fox Spirit Press)
• "The Circle Line", Martin Livings (Between the Tracks, Things in the Well)
• "The Little Mermaid", in Passing, Angela Slatter (The Review of Australian Fiction, April 2017)
• "The Big Reveal", David Stevens (Kaleidotrope)

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• "Ismail's Expulsion", Brian Craddock (Between the Tracks, Things in the Well)

Nominees

• "Hope and Walker", Andrew Cull (Vermillion2One)
• "This Impossible Gift", Matthew R. Davis (Midnight Echo #12, AHWA)
• "No Good Deed", Angela Slatter (New Fears, Titan Books)
• "Furtherest", Kaaron Warren (Dark Screams Vol. 7, Cemetery Dance)
• "Eden in the End", Ashlee Scheuerman (Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing)

Novel

Winner

• Corpselight (Verity Fassbinder Book 2), Angela Slatter (Jo Fletcher Books)

Nominees

• Aletheia, J. S. Breukelaar (Crystal Lake Publishing)
• Slithers, W. W. Mortensen (Self Published)
• Soon, Lois Murphy (Transit Lounge)
• Providence Place, Matthew Tait (Dark Crib Publications)

2018

Award Director: Silvia Brown

Poetry

Winner

• "Revenants of the Antipodes", Kyla Lee Ward (HWA Poetry Showcase, Volume V)

Nominees

• "Polarity", Jay Caselberg (The Literary Hatchet 8-9/18)
• "The Middle of the Night", Rebecca Fraser (Breach #09)
• "Your Mortician Knows", Bee Nielsen (A Little Ray of Obsidian Black)
• "Matinee", Hester J. Rook (Chrome Baby 4/12/18)

Written Work in a Comic/Graphic Novel

Winner

• The Demon: Hell is Earth, Andrew Constant, Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy & Chris Sotomayor (DC)

Edited Work

Winner

• Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Horror, Lee Murray, ed. (Adrenaline)

Nominees

• Behind the Mask, Steve Dillon, ed. (Oz Horror Con)
• Cthulhu: Land of the Long White Cloud and Cthulhu Deep Down Under, Volume 2, Steve Proposch, Christopher Sequeira & Bryce J. Stevens, eds. (IFWG)

Collected Work

Winner

• Shadows on the Wall, Steven Paulsen (IFWG Publishing)

Nominees

• Singing My Sister Down and Other Stories, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
• Bones, Andrew Cull (Vermillion2One)
• The Dalziel Files, Brian Craddock (Broken Puppet Books)
• Exploring Dark Fiction #2: A Primer to Kaaron Warren, Eric J. Guignard, ed. (Dark Moon)
• Beneath the Ferny Tree, David Schembri (Close-Up)

Short fiction

Winner

• "Riptide", Dan Rabarts (Suspended in Dusk II)

Nominees

• "The House of Jack’s Girls", Lee Battersby (PseudoPod 10/12/18)
• "The Ward of Tindalos", Debbie Cowens & Matt Cowens (Cthulhu: Land of the Long White Cloud)
• "Planned and Expected", Piper Mejia (Breach #09)
• "Slither", Jason Nahrung (Cthulhu Deep Down Under, Volume 2)

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• "The Black Sea", Chris Mason (Beneath the Waves: Tales from the Deep)

Nominees

• "Time and Tide", Robert Hood (Cthulhu Deep Down Under, Volume 2)
• "Thylacines", Deborah Sheldon (Severed)
• "Love Thee Better", Kaaron Warren (Creatures: The Legacy of Frankenstein)

Novel

Winner

• Tide of Stone, Kaaron Warren (Omnium Gatherum)

Nominees

• Devouring Dark, Alan Baxter (Grey Matter)
• Teeth of the Wolf, Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray (Raw Dog Screaming)
• Contrition, Deborah Sheldon (IFWG)

2019

The winners were announced in June 2019:^[1]

Poetry

Winner

• "Taxonomy of Captured Roses", Hester J. Rook (Kaleidotrope, Autumn '19)

Nominees

• "Separation", Jay Caselberg (The Literary Hatchet #23)
• "Please Do Not Feed the Animals", Anne Casey (out of emptied cups)
• "Ode to a Black Hole", Charles Lovecraft (Spectral Realms Winter '19)
• "Brine and Vanishings", Hester J. Rook (Luminality #21)
• "Boat of a Million Years", Kyla Lee Ward (The Macabre Modern and Other Morbidities)

Written Work in a Comic/Graphic Novel

Winner

• The Demon: Hell is Earth, Andrew Constant, Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy & Chris Sotomayor (DC)

Edited Work

Winner

• Midnight Echo Volume 14, Deborah Sheldon, ed. (Australasian Horror Writers Association)

Nominees

• Beside the Seaside: Tales from the Day-Tripper, Steve Dillon, ed. (self-published)
• Trickster's Treats, Volume 3: The Seven Deadly Sins Edition, Marie O'Regan & Lee Murray, eds. (self-published)

Collected Work

Winner

• Served Cold, Alan Baxter (Grey Matter)

Nominees

• Collision: Stories, J. S. Breukelaar (Meerkat)
• Figments and Fragments, Deborah Sheldon (IFWG)

Short fiction

Winner

• "Steadfast Shadowsong", Matthew R. Davis (Dig Two Graves)

Nominees

• "The Ocean Hushed the Stones", Alan Baxter (Served Cold)
• "Ave Rune", J. S. Breukelaar (Collision: Stories)
• "Vivienne & Agnes", Chris Mason (Beside the Seaside: Tales from the Daytripper)

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• "Supermassive Black Mass", Matthew R. Davis

Nominees

• "1862", C. J. Halbard (Man on Fire)
• "Enemy of My Enemy", Rick Kennett (War of the Worlds: Battleground Australia)
• "Out of Darkness", Chris Mason (Tales of the Lost, Volume 1)
• "The Neverwhere Line", Matthew J. Morrison (Midnight Echo #14)

Novel

Winner

• Shepherd, Catherine Jinks (Text)

Nominees

• The Flower and the Serpent, Madeleine D'Este (self-published)
• Fusion, Kate Richards (Raw Dog Screaming)
• Contrition, Deborah Sheldon (IFWG)

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

• "The Danse Macabre", Kyla Lee Ward (The Macabre Modern and Other Morbidities)

Nominees

• "Suffer the Little Children", Kris Ashton (Aurealis #119)
• "Horror and the paranormal", Eugen Bacon (Writing Speculative Fiction)
• "Horror Movies That Mean Something and Childhood Trauma Manifested", Maria Lewis (flicks.com.au)

2020

Poetry

Winner

• "This Soundless Murk", Hester J. Rook (The Future File)

Nominees

• "Separation", K.S. Nikakis (Journey: Seeking the Sacred, Spirit and Soul in the Australian Wilderness)
• "The King of Eyes", P. S. Cottier (Monstrous)
• "Ode to a Black Hole", P. S. Cottier (Monstrous)
• "The Tongueless Dead", Leigh Blackmore (Spectral Realms #13)

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

• "Exploration of Menstruation in Horror and Dark Fiction", Tabatha Wood

Nominees

• Queer Vampires in Modern Cinema, Tabatha Wood
• Cthulu in California, Emmet O’Cuana
• What Makes Good Horror, Tim Hawken
• Phantasmagoria and the Earliest Forms of Horror Storytelling, Maria Lewis
• Sandalwood and Jade: The Weird and Fantastic Verse of Lin Carter, Leigh Blackmore

Graphic Novel

Winner

• Hellblazer: Rise and Fall, Tom Taylor

Nominees

• DCeased: Unkillables, Tom Taylor and Karl Mostert (DC Comics)
• The Mycelium Complex, Daniel Reed
• Redback Armageddon, Nathan Grixti (Self-published)
• Undad Volume Three, Katie Walsh-Smith, Miranda Richardson, Tim Stiles, Ryan Lindsay, Shane W Smith, Mitchell Collins and Simon Robins (Self-published)

Edited Work

Winner

• Midnight Echo Volume 15, Lee Murray, ed. (Australasian Horror Writers Association)

Nominees

• Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women, Lee Murray and Geneve Flynn, eds. (Omnium Gatherum)
• Hadithi & the State of Black Speculative Fiction, Eugen Bacon and Milton Davis, eds. (Luna Press Publishing)
• Black Dogs, Black Tales – Where the Dogs Don’t Die, Tabatha Wood and Cassie Hart, eds. (Things in the Well)
• Trickster’s Treats 4 – Coming, Buried or Not!, Louise Zedda-Sampson and Geneve Flynn, eds. (Things in the Well)

Collected Work

Winner

• The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners, Angela Slatter (PS Publishing)

Nominees

• Behind the Midnight Blinds, Marty Young (Things in the Well)
• Red New Day, Angela Slatter (Brain Jar Press)
• Bleak Precision, Greg Chapman (self-published)
• Grotesque, Lee Murray (Things in the Well)

Short fiction

Winner

• "Brumation", Anthony Ferguson (Midnight Echo Volume 15)

Nominees

• “Vision Thing”, Matthew R. Davis (Black Dogs, Black Tales)
• “Let Shadows Slip Through”, Kali Napier (New Gothic Review 2)
• “The Bone Fairy”, Martin Livings (Midnight Echo Volume 15)
• “Hideous Armature”, Joanne Anderton (Midnight Echo Volume 15)
• “Needles”, Kali Napier (The Dark #62)

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• "By Touch and By Glance", Lisa L Hannett (Songs for Dark Seasons)

Nominees

• “New Wine”, Angela Slatter (Cursed)
• The Attic Tragedy, Joseph Ashley-Smith
• “Barralang, pop. 63”, Deborah Sheldon (Dimension6 #19)
• “Kua Hinga Te Kauri”, Dan Rabarts (Outback Horrors Down Under)

Novel

Winner

• Deception Pass, Matthew Tait (Dark Crib)

Nominees

• The Crying Forest, Venero Armanno (IFWG Publishing)
• Gutterbreed, Marty Young (Eclectic Trio)
• Flyaway, Kathleen Jennings (Picador)

2021

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

• I’m Looking Right At You, HP Lovecraft, Jack Dann (IFWG)

Nominees

• Vampire Poetry, Kyla Lee Ward (Hippocampus Press)
• The Curious Reclassification of Peter Benchley’s Jaws, Kris Ashton (Aurealis Magazine)
• Capturing Ghosts on the Page, Kaaron Warren (Brain Jar Press)
• Murder Down Under, Anthony Ferguson (Exposit Books)

Poetry

Winner

• "Cheongsam", Lee Murray (Tortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken)

Nominees

• “When The Girls Began To Fall”, Geneve Flynn (Tortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken.)
• “Sonnet for a Scarecrow”, Rebecca Fraser (Curioser Magazine, issue 1)
• “Guest of Honour”, Geneve Flynn (Tortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken.)
• “Snip”, P.S. Cottier (Midnight Echo #16)
• “Exquisite”, Lee Murray (Tortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken.)

Graphic Novel

Winner

• The Mycelium Complex Issue 2, Daniel Reed (Nautilus Illustrations)

Nominees

• Frankie’s Drive-In Ozploitation Double Feature, Aaron Harvie (Badharvie)
• Goetia, Robert Buratti (Sub Rosa Publishing)

Edited Work

Winner

• Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies, Deborah Sheldon, ed. (IFWG Publishing)

Nominees

• SNAFU: Holy War, Amanda J. Spedding and Geoff Brown, eds. (Cohesion Press)
• Midnight Echo #16, Tim Hawken, ed. (AHWA)

Collected Work

Winner

• Tool tales, Kaaron Warren (IFWG Publishing)

Nominees

• The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales, Angela Slatter (Tartarus Press)
• Seeds, Tabatha Wood (Wild Wood Books)
• Inanimates, Joanne Anderton (Brain Jar Press)
• Danged Black Thing, Eugen Bacon (Transit Lounge Publishing)

Short Fiction

Winner

• “A Good Big Brother”, Matt Tighe (Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies)

Nominees

• “Bad Apple” by Louise Pieper (Good Southern Witches)
• “Tagged” by Chuck McKenzie (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine)
• “The Best Medicine” by Pauline Yates (Midnight Echo #16)
• “The Steering Wheel Club” by Kaaron Warren (Giving the Devil His Due)

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• Ariadne, I Love You, J. Ashley-Smith (Meerkat Press)

Nominees

• “The Waiting Room”, Matthew Davis (It Calls from the Doors)
• Cryptid Killers, Alister Hodge
• “The Little One”, Rebecca Fraser (Coralesque and Other Tales to Disturb and Distract)
• Dirty Heads, Aaron Dries

Novel

Winner

• The Girls Left Behind, J.P. Townley

Nominees

• Butcherbird, Cassie Hart
• An Ill Wind, Martin Livings
• Papa Lucy and the Boneman, Jason Fischer
• The Airways, Jennifer Mills
• Merfolk, Jeremy Bates

2022

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

• "The Slow Burn Brilliance of Midnight Mass", Kris Ashton (Aurealis Magazine)

Nominees

• "I Don’t Read Horror (and other weird tales)" by Lee Murray (Interstellar Flight Magazine)
• "Vampire, the Ageless Monster", Tim Hawken (Aurealis Magazine)
• No Horror Without the Body, Tabatha Wood (Self-published)

Poetry

Winner

• "Hip Gnomes", P. S. Cottier (Antipodean SF)

Nominees

• Night Terrors, L. E. Daniels
• "How Does Your Garden Grow?", Gene Flynn (Hybrid: Misfits, Monsters and Other Phenomena)
• "If I Touch You, You’ll Know", Rebecca Fraser (Nightmare Fuel Magazine)

Graphic Novel

Winner

• Gorilla My Dreams Team-Up #1: When Freaks Collide, Big Tim Stiles (Big Tim’s Funny Books)

Nominees

• How to Win a Raid, Emmet O’Cuana (Bird’s Eye Comics)
• Batrisha and the Creepy Caretaker, Dillon Naylor (Comicoz)

Edited Work

Winner

• Death in the Mouth: An Anthology of Original Horror by People of Colour, Cassie Hart and Sloane Leong, eds. (self-published)

Nominees

• Found: An Anthology of Found Footage Horror Stories, Andrew Cull & Gabino Iglesias, eds. (Vermillion2One Press)
• Midnight Echo #17, Greg Chapman, ed. (AHWA)

Collected Work

Winner

• Hard Places, Kirstyn McDermott (Trepidation Publishing)

Nominees

• Cut to Care: A Collection of Little Hurts, Aaron Dries (IFWG Australia)
• Liminal Spaces: Horror Stories, Deborah Sheldon (IFWG Australia)
• The Devil Took Her: Tales of Horror, Michael Botur (The Sager Group)
• Reflections, Tabatha Wood (Wild Wood Books)

Short Fiction

Winner

• "Little Balloons", Aaron Dries (Cut To Care: A Collection of Little Hurts)

Nominees

• "Break the Skin If You Have To", Emma Osborne, Cadwell Turnbull and Jess Essey (Nightmare Magazine)
• "They Call Me Mother", Geneve Flynn (Classic Monsters Unleashed)
• "The Tub", J. Ashley Smith (Midnight Echo #17)

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

• And Then I Woke Up, Malcolm Devlin (Tor.com)

Nominees

• "Among The Faded Woods", Faith Mudge (The Art of Being Human)
• "Kookaburra Cruel" by Aaron Dries (Damnation Games)

Novel

Winner

• The Path of Thorns, Angela Slatter (Titan Books)

Nominees

• The Stone Road, Trent Jamieson (Erewhon Books)
• Denizen, James McKenzie Watson (Viking)
• Red Ruin, Ian J. Middleton and Denver Grenell (Self-published)

2023

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Nominees

• A Vindication of Monsters, Claire Fitzpatrick, ed. (IFWG Publishing International)
• "Displaced Spirits: Ghosts of the Diaspora" by Lee Murray (Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror)
• "Holy Revelations", Grace Chan (Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror)

Poetry

Nominees

• "The Broonie", Deborah Sheldon (Nightmare Fuel Magazine)
• Dancers on the Road, K. S. Nikakis (SOV Media)
• "Guiding Star", Tim Jones (Remains to be Told Dark Tales of Aotearoa)
• "Never Leave the Path", Kyla Lee Ward (Eternal Haunted Summer)
• "What It Means to be With You", Pauline Yates (HWA Poetry Showcase Volume X)

Graphic Novel

Nominees

• Fables of Fear, Karl Brandt (KB Comics)
• Monomyth, David Hazan (Mad Cave Studios)
• Splitting Sides 2, David Schembri (North Forest Books)
• Yuletide Flame, Hayden Fryer (Siberian Productions)

Edited Work

Nominees

• Black Beacon Book of Horror, Cameron Trost, ed. (Black Beacon Books)
• Killer Creatures Down Under, Deborah Sheldon, ed. (IFWG Publishing)
• Remains to be Told, Lee Murray, ed. (Clan Destine Press)
• SNAFU Punk’d, Geoff Brown and Amanda J. Spedding, eds. (Cohesion Press)

Collected Work

Nominees

• Bites Eyes, Matthew R. Davis (Brain Jar Press)
• Midnight Masquerades, Greg Chapman (IFWG Publishing International)
• Precarious Waters, Pamela Jeffs (Four Ink Press)
• Stingers, Noel Osualdini & T.M. McLean (Self-published)

Short Fiction

Nominees

• "All the Eyes That See", Alan Baxter (Cosmic Horror Monthly #42)
• Camp Never, J. S. Bruekelaar
• Death Interrupted, Pamela Jeffs
• "What Bones These Tides Bring", Nikky Lee (Remains to be Told Dark Tales of Aotearoa)

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Nominees

• "After I Found Her", Claire Low (This Fresh Hell)
• Bitters, Kaaron Warren (Cemetery Dance Books)
• Those That Pursue Us Yet, Kyla Ward (Independent Legion Publishing)
• "We Called it Graffitiville", Aaron Dries (Vandal: Stories of Damage)

Novel

Nominees

• Cretaceous Canyon, Deborah Sheldon (Severed Press)
• The Graveyard Shift, Maria Lewis (Angry Robot/Datura)
• Polyphemus, Zachary Ashford (Darklit Press)
• When Ghosts Call Us Home, Katya de Becerra (Page Street Publishing (US), Pan Macmillan (UK/AU/NZ))

References

General

• Australian Horror Writers Association "Australian Shadows Awards" (Accessed 2 May 2015).
• Australian Horror Writers Association Facebook page (Accessed 2 May 2015).
• Crabb, Brendan. (30 April 2015). "Shadows of the Lonely Dead picks up award for Jamberoo author Alan Baxter" Kiama Independent.
• 2009 Australian Shadows Award: Finalists (Accessed 16 May 2010).
• "News: Australian Shadows Award Expands". HorrorScope (Accessed 12 September 2009).
• "News: Australian Shadows finalists". HorrorScope (Accessed 14 February 2009).
• Kemble, Gary. (17 March 2007). "Elliott wins Australian Shadows award". ABC online news (Articulate).
• Kemble, Gary. (13 March 2009). "Lee Battersby Snares 2nd Australian Shadows Award" ABC News (Articulate). (Accessed 21 March 2009).
• Siemienowicz, Miranda (16 March 2007). "News: Australian Shadows winner announced". HorrorScope
• (10 June 2019) "2018 Australian Shadows Awards Winners". Locus Mag

Specific

External links

• Australian Shadows Awards page of AHWA website
• Australian Shadows Facebook page

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020-06-09 . 2019 Australian Shadows Awards Winners . 2023-08-21 . Locus Online . en-US.