The Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) has announced the finalists for its Australian Shadows Award. The award, in its third year, is a juried prize “presented by the AHWA and judged on the overall effect—the skill, delivery, and lasting resonance—of a work of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian and published either in Australia or overseas.” The winner will be announced in April.
The shortlist of finalists is:
* “Between the Memories” by Matthew Chrulew (published in Aurealis #38/39)
* “Subtle Invasion” by David Conyers (The Black Book of Horror)
* “Toother” by Terry Dowling (Eclipse 1)
* “The Dark and What It Said” by Rick Kennett (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #28)
* “There Was Darkness” by Martin Livings (Fantastic Wonder Stories)
* The Darkness Within by Jason Nahrung (Hachette Livre)
In addition, the judges announced three honorable mentions:
* The Spiraling Worm by David Conyers & John Sunseri (Chaosium)
* “Cooling the Crows” by Kaaron Warren (In Bad Dreams)
* “The Wildflowers” by Marty Young (Fantastic Wonder Stories)
The Shadows Award shortlist is decided by a panel of three judges. The Guest Judge (this year, author Richard Harland) then selects the winner from the shortlist. The award is sponsored by Altair Australia, and the trophy itself is a hanf-painted award created by Brom and suppled by The Franklin Mint.
The AHWA was founded in 2003, and in addition to the award, sponsors a short story competition, a mentorship program, writers’ forums, and the fiction magazine Midnight Echo. For more information on the group or the award, see australianhorror.com.