The final ballot for this year’s Aurora Awards has been announced. The Auroras are “given out annually to honour the best Canadian science fiction and fantasy literary works, artwork, and fan activities from the previous year.” Voting for this year’s awards will begin for members of CSFFA (Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association) on 6 May and will close 13 September. The awards will be presented at Can-Con (www.can-con.org) in Ottawa, the weekend of 4-6 October, 2013.

This year’s ballot:

Best Novel – English:
Destiny’s Fall by Marie Bilodeau (Dragon Moon Press)
Food for the Gods by Karen Dudley (Ravenstone Books)
Healer’s Sword: Part 7 of the Okal Rel Saga by Lynda Williams (EDGE)
The Silvered by Tanya Huff (DAW)
Thunder Road by Chadwick Ginther (Ravenstone Books)
Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer (Penguin Canada)

Best YA Novel – English:
Above by Leah Bobet (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic)
The Calling by Kelley Armstrong (Harper Teen)
Dissolve by Neil Godbout (Bundoran Press)
Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero by Michell Plested (Five Rivers)
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen)
Under My Skin: Wildlings Series (Book 1) by Charles de Lint (Razorbill Canada)

Best Short Fiction – English:
“Delta Pi” by Matt Moore (Torn Realities, Post Mortem Press)
“Happily Ever After” by Marie Bilodeau (When the Villain Comes Home, Dragon Moon Press)
“Knights Exemplar” by Al Onia (On Spec #90, Fall)
“Synch Me, Kiss Me, Drop” by Suzanne Church (Clarkesworld, Issue #68, May)
“The Walker of the Shifting Borderland” by Douglas Smith (On Spec #90, Fall)

Best Poem/Song – English:
“A sea monster tells his story” by David Clink (The Literary Review of Canada, July/August)
“The Ghosts of Birds” by Helen Marshall (Phantom Drift 2: Valuable Estrangements, Wordcraft of Oregon)
“Hold Fast” by Leah Bobet (Strange Horizons, June 11, 2012)
“Roc” by Sandra Kasturi (Come Late to the Love of Birds, Tightrope Books)
“Zombie Descartes Writes a Personal Ad” by Carolyn Clink (Tesseracts Sixteen, EDGE)

Best Graphic Novel – English:
Goblins by Tarol Hunt (webcomic)
Looking for Group by Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza (webcomic)
Raygun Gothic by GMB Chomichuk (Alchemical Press)
Weregeek by Alina Pete (webcomic)
West of Bathurst by Kari Maaren (webcomic)

Best Related Work – English:
Shanghai Steam edited by Ace Jordyn, Calvin D. Jim, and Renée Bennett (EDGE)
Imaginarium 2012: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing edited by Sandra Kasturi and Halli Villegas (ChiZine Publications / Tightrope Books)
Hair Side, Flesh Side by Helen Marshall (ChiZine Publications)
Blood and Water edited by Hayden Trenholm (Bundoran Press)
On Spec published by the Copper Pig Writers’ Society

Best Artist:
Richard Bartrop (illustrations for fiction on Reality Skimming blog)
GMB Chomichuk (Raygun Gothic, Alchemical Press)
Costi Gurgu (cover art for Inner Diverse, Starfire World Syndicate)
Michelle Milburn (cover art for Gathering Storm and Healer’s Sword, EDGE)
Erik Mohr (cover art for ChiZine Publications)

Best Fan Publication:
BCSFAzine edited by Felicity Walker
Broken Toys edited by Taral Wayne
In Places Between: The Robyn Herrington Short Story Contest edited by Renée Bennett
Reality Skimming blog, content coordinator Michelle Carraway
Space Cadet edited by R. Graeme Cameron
Speculating Canada blog, edited by Derek Newman-Stille

Best Fan Filk:
Morva Bowman and Alan Pollard, Concert at FilKONtario 22
Debs & Errol (Deborah Linden and Errol Elumir), Songs in the Key of Geek CD
Brooke Lunderville, International Guest of Honour Concert at Consonance
Kari Maaren, Body of Work
Peggi Warner-Lalonde, Concert at NEFilk 22 ConCertino 2012

Best Fan Organizational:
Andrew Gurudata, Organizing the Constellation Awards, Toronto
Evelyn Baker, Amy De Ruyte, and Peter Halasz, Executive Committee of WFC Toronto, 2012
Sandra Kasturi, Helen Marshall, and, James Bambury, Co-Chairs, Chiaroscuro Reading Series, Toronto
Sandra Kasturi and Laura Marshall. Co-Chairs, Toronto SpecFic Colloquium: Beyond the Human
Randy McCharles, Chair and Programming, When Words Collide, Calgary

Best Fan Related Work:
Ron Friedman, conception and delivery of the Aurora Awards voter package
Helen Marshall, “The Book is Dead; Long Live the Book!”: Some Thoughts on the Coming of eBooks, lecture at the 2012 Toronto SpecFic Colloquium
Michael Matheson, compilation and maintenance of the Can Spec Fic List
Lloyd Penney, for fanwriting and letter and article writing for fanzines and e-fanzines
Peter Watts, “Hive Minds, Mind Hives” lecture at Toronto SpecFic Colloquium