Continuum 8: Craftonomicon was held this past weekend. It was this year’s 51st Australian National SF Convention, and the site for the awarding of this year’s Ditmar Awards (for works published in 2011). The Ditmars are the Australian equivalent of the Hugo Awards (i.e., awards for the best science fiction of the year as voted by the readers and fans).
The winners (and other nominees) are:
Best Novel: Power and Majesty by Tansy Rayner Roberts (Voyager)
Other nominees:
Death Most Definite by Trent Jamieson (Hachette)
Madigan Mine by Kirstyn McDermott (Pan Macmillan)
Best Novel: The Courier’s New Bicycle by Kim Westwood (HarperCollins)
Other nominees:
Debris (The Veiled Worlds 1) by Jo Anderton (Angry Robot)
Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres (Random House Australia)
The Shattered City (Creature Court 2) by Tansy Rayner Roberts (HarperCollins)
Mistification by Kaaron Warren (Angry Robot)
Best Novella or Novelette: “The Past is a Bridge Best Left Burnt” by Paul Haines (The Last Days of Kali Yuga)
Other nominees:
“And the Dead Shall Outnumber the Living” by Deborah Biancotti (Ishtar)
“Above” by Stephanie Campisi (Above/Below)
“Below” by Ben Peek (Above/Below)
“Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary” by Tansy Rayner Roberts (Love and Romanpunk)
“The Sleeping and the Dead” by Cat Sparks (Ishtar)
Best Short Story: “The Patrician” by Tansy Rayner Roberts (Love and Romanpunk)
Other nominees:
“Bad Power” by Deborah Biancotti (Bad Power)
“Breaking the Ice” by Thoraiya Dyer (Cosmos 37)
“The Last Gig of Jimmy Rucker” by Martin Livings & Talie Helene (More Scary Kisses)
“Alchemy” by Lucy Sussex (Thief of Lives)
“All You Can Do Is Breathe” by Kaaron Warren (Blood and Other Cravings)
Best Collected Work: The Last Days of Kali Yuga by Paul Haines (Brimstone)
Other nominees:
Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti (Twelfth Planet)
Nightsiders by Sue Isle (Twelfth Planet)
Ishtar edited by Amanda Pillar & K.V. Taylor (Gilgamesh)
Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts (Twelfth Planet)
Best Artwork: “Finishing School” by Kathleen Jennings, in Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories (Candlewick)
Other nominee:
Cover art for The Freedom Maze (Small Beer) by Kathleen Jennings
Best Fan Writer: Robin Pen for “The Ballad of the Unrequited Ditmar”
Other nominees:
Bruce Gillespie, for body of work including “The Golden Age of Fanzines is Now”, and SF Commentary 81 & 82
Alexandra Pierce, for body of work including reviews at Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus, Not If You Were The Last Short Story On Earth, and Randomly Yours, Alex
Tansy Rayner Roberts, for body of work including reviews at Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus, and Not If You Were The Last Short Story On Earth
Sean Wright, for body of work including “Authors and Social Media” series in Adventures of a Bookonaut
Best Fan Artist: Kathleen Jennings, for work in Errantry, including “The Dalek Game”
Other nominees:
Rebecca Ing, for work in Scape
Dick Jenssen, for body of work including work in IRS, Steam Engine Time, SF Commentary, and Scratchpad
Lisa Rye, for “Steampunk Portal” series
Rhianna Williams, for work in Nullas Anxietas Convention Programme Book
Best Fan Publication in Any Medium: The Writer and the Critic podcast, Kirstyn McDermott & Ian Mond
Other nominees:
SF Commentary, Bruce Gillespie, ed.
Galactic Chat podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Tansy Rayner Roberts & Sean Wright
Galactic Suburbia podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Tansy Rayner Roberts, & Alex Pierce
The Coode Street Podcast, Gary K. Wolfe & Jonathan Strahan
Best New Talent: Joanne Anderton
Other nominees:
Alan Baxter
Steve Cameron
William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review: Alexandra Pierce & Tehani Wessely, for reviews of Vorkosigan Saga, in Randomly Yours, Alex
Other nominees:
Russell Blackford, for “Currently reading: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke”, in Metamagician and the Hellfire Club
Damien Broderick & Van Ikin, for editing Warriors of the Tao: The Best of Science Fiction: A Review of Speculative Literature
Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene, for “2010: The Year in Review”, in The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2010
David McDonald, Tansy Rayner Roberts & Tehani Wessely, for “Reviewing New Who” series, in A Conversational Life