The Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) announces “five of the best and scariest works of Australian horror fiction from 2008 as the finalists in the annual Australian Shadows Award.”
The finalists are:
“The Claws of Native Ghosts” by Lee Battersby (published in The Beast Within)
“This Way to the Exit” by Sara Douglass (Dreaming Again)
“Rick Gets a Job” by Jason Fischer (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #37)
“Lakeside” by Christopher Green (Dreaming Again)
“Her Collection of Intimacy” by Paul Haines (Black: Australian Dark Culture Magazine #2)
Green’s is his first published short story. Battersby won the first Shadows Award in 2005; this is his fourth nomination (no one else has as many).
The Australian Shadows Award is an annual juried award that honors “the very best works of Australian dark fiction.” The finalists were chosen by the juding panel of AHWA Vice President Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Brett McBean, and Chuck McKenzie. The winner will be chosen by guest judge Sarah Endacott (editor of Orb magazine), and announced on 13 March 2009. The award trophy itself is a hand-painted award created by Brom and suppled by The Franklin Mint.
Previous winners and nominees are listed on this page.