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Aurealis Award for best young adult short story facts for kids

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Aurealis Award for young adult short story
Presented by Chimaera Publications,
Continuum Foundation
Country Australia
First awarded 1995
Currently held by Jo Hart

The Aurealis Award for young adult short story is a special prize given each year to the best short story written for young adults in Australia. It's part of the bigger Aurealis Awards, which celebrate amazing Australian writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This award helps show off the best new stories that young people aged 12-15 would love to read.

About the Aurealis Awards

The Aurealis Awards are presented every year by Chimaera Publications and WASFF in Australia. They aim to celebrate the great work of Australian writers in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. To be considered, a story must be published by an Australian writer between January 1 and December 31 of a certain year. The awards ceremony happens the next year. What started as a small gathering of about 20 people has grown into a big two-day event with over 200 attendees!

Award Categories

Since they began in 1995, the awards have recognized many types of speculative fiction. This is a type of fiction that includes elements that are not real, like magic or futuristic technology. Today, there are awards for:

  • Science fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Horror
  • Speculative young adult fiction (with separate awards for longer books and short stories)
  • Collections of stories
  • Anthologies (books with stories by different authors)
  • Illustrative works or graphic novels
  • Children's books
  • A special award for overall excellence in speculative fiction

These awards are important because they set a high standard for science fiction and fantasy books. Big publishers like HarperCollins and Orbit support the awards, showing that winning an Aurealis Award is a real honor.

How Winners Are Chosen

A group of judges decides the winners from a list of submitted stories. First, they make a "long list" of many possible nominees. Then, they narrow it down to a "short list" of finalists. Sometimes, if two stories are equally good, they might have a tie. However, judges are encouraged to pick just one winner. The judges themselves are chosen from people who apply for the role.

This article lists all the short-listed stories and winners in the best young adult short story category. Margo Lanagan has won this award three times, and Isobelle Carmody has won it twice. Margo Lanagan also holds the record for being nominated the most times, with ten nominations!

Winners and Nominees

The table below shows all the short-listed stories and the winners for the best young adult short story award. The years listed are when the story was published. The awards ceremony always takes place the following year.

  *   Winners and joint winners   *   Nominees on the shortlist

Year Author(s) Short story Publisher or publication Ref
1995 No award given
1996 Carmody, IsobelleIsobelle Carmody* "Green Monkey Dreams" Viking Press (Green Monkey Dreams)
1996 Luckett, DaveDave Luckett The Wizard and Me Omnibus Books
1996 Moloney, JamesJames Moloney The Pipe Lothian Books
1996 Rubinstein, GillianGillian Rubinstein "B'ku, B'ku" Hyland House (Annie's Brother's Suit)
1996 Taylor, KeithKeith Taylor "At the Edge of the Sea" Penguin Books (Dream Weavers)
1997 Starke, RuthRuth Starke* The Twist in the Tale Lothian Books
1997 Sheryl Gardner The Peppercorn Tree Lothian Books
1997 Julie Ireland "Hanging by a Thread" HarperCollins (Hanging by a Thread and Other Stories)
1998 No award given
1999 No award given
2000 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan* "The Queen's Notice" Allen & Unwin (White Time)
2000 Caswell, BrianBrian Caswell "Avalon" Hodder Headline (Tales from the Wasteland)
2000 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan "The Boy Who Didn't Yearn" Allen & Unwin (White Time)
2000 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan "Midsummer Mission" Allen & Unwin (White Time)
2000 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan "White Time" Allen & Unwin (White Time)
2001 Carmody, IsobelleIsobelle Carmody* Dreamwalker Lothian Books
2001 Nix, GarthGarth Nix "Lightning Bringer" Simon & Schuster (Love ***: Ten Stories of Truth)
2002 No award given
2003 No award given
2004 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan* "Singing My Sister Down" Allen & Unwin (Black Juice)
2004 Chris Barnes "The Glass Flower" CSFG Publishing (Encounters)
2004 Congreve, BillBill Congreve "The Shooter at Heartrock Waterhole" Viking Press (The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm)
2004 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan "Rite of Spring" Allen & Unwin (Black Juice)
2005 Nix, GarthGarth Nix* "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case" Allen & Unwin (Across the Wall: Tales of the Old Kingdom and Elsewhere)
2005 Flinthart, DirkDirk Flinthart "The Red Priest's Homecoming" Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine
2006 Tan, ShaunShaun Tan* The Arrival Lothian Books
2006 Biancotti, DeborahDeborah Biancotti "The Dying Light" Eidolon Books (Eidolon I)
2006 Brown, SimonSimon Brown "Leviathan" Eidolon Books (Eidolon I)
2006 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan "Baby Jane" Allen & Unwin (Red Spikes)
2006 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan "A Feather in the Breast of God" Allen & Unwin (Red Spikes)
2006 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan "Forever Upward" Allen & Unwin (Red Spikes)
2007 Biancotti, DeborahDeborah Biancotti* "A Scar for Leida" Ticonderoga Publications (Fantastic Wonder Stories)
2007 Cummings, Shane JiraiyaShane Jiraiya Cummings "Yamabushi Kaidan and the Smoke Dragon" Ticonderoga Publications (Fantastic Wonder Stories)
2007 Nix, GarthGarth Nix "Bad Luck, Trouble, Death *'''" Eclipse
2007 Nix, GarthGarth Nix "Holly and Iron" Allen & Unwin (Dark Alchemy)
2007 Rolfe, TraceyTracey Rolfe "Cast Off" Ticonderoga Publications (Fantastic Wonder Stories)
2008 Jamieson, TrentTrent Jamieson* "Cracks" Shiny
2008 Biancotti, DeborahDeborah Biancotti "The Tailor of Time" Norilana Books (Clockwork Phoenix)
2008 Flinthart, DirkDirk Flinthart "This Is Not My Story" Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine
2008 Maclean, KevinKevin Maclean "Eye of the Beholder" DAW Books (Misspelled)
2009 Sparks, CatCat Sparks* "Seventeen" CSFG Publishing (Masques)
2009 Anderton, JoanneJoanne Anderton "Dragon Bones" Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine
2009 Isle, SueSue Isle "Paper Dragons" Shiny
2009 McHugh, IanIan McHugh "Once a Month, On a Sunday" Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine
2009 Roberts, Tansy RaynerTansy Rayner Roberts "Like Us" Shiny
2010 Lanagan, MargoMargo Lanagan* "A Thousand Flowers" Allen & Unwin (Zombies Vs Unicorns)
2010 Doyle, AidanAidan Doyle "Inksucker" FableCroft Publishing (Worlds Next Door)
2010 Flinthart, DirkDirk Flinthart "One Story, No Refunds" Shiny
2010 Landelius, KaiaKaia Landelius & Tansy Rayner Roberts "Nine Times" FableCroft Publishing (Worlds Next Door)
2010 White, JenJen White "An Ordinary Boy" Tangled Bank Press (The Tangled Bank)
2011 Isle, SueSue Isle* "Nation of the Night" Twelfth Planet Press (Nightsiders)
2011 Jennings, KathleenKathleen Jennings "Finishing School" Candlewick Press (Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories)
2011 Kennedy, CateCate Kennedy "Seventy-Two Derwents" Allen & Unwin (The Wicked Wood: Tales From the Tower Volume 2)
2011 Murray, MartineMartine Murray "One Window" Allen & Unwin (The Wilful Eye: Tales From the Tower Volume 1)
2011 Roberts, Tansy RaynerTansy Rayner Roberts "The Patrician" Twelfth Planet Press (Love and Romanpunk)
2012 Dyer, ThoraiyaThoraiya Dyer* "The Wisdom of the Ants" Clarkesworld Magazine
2012 D'Ath, JustinJustin D'Ath "Stilled Lifes x 11" Ford Street Publishing (Trust Me Too)
2012 Heath, JackJack Heath "Rats" Ford Street Publishing (Trust Me Too)
2012 Nicholls, JackJack Nicholls "The Statues of Melbourne" Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 56
2012 Tam, AdrienneAdrienne Tam "The Worry Man" BusyBird Publishing ([Untitled] 5)
2013 Marillier, JulietJuliet Marillier* "By Bone-light" Ticonderoga Publications (Prickle Moon)
2013 Anderton, JoanneJoanne Anderton "Mah Song" FableCroft Publishing (The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories)
2013 Mok, D. K.D. K. Mok "Morning Star" FableCroft Publishing (One Small Step, an anthology of discoveries)
2013 Wilkins, KimKim Wilkins "The Year of Ancient Ghosts" Ticonderoga Publications (The Year of Ancient Ghosts)
2014 Flinthart, DirkDirk Flinthart* "Vanilla" Twelfth Planet Press (Kaleidoscope)
2014 Alexander, GoldieGoldie Alexander "In Hades" Celapene Press
2014 Argyll, LizLiz Argyll "Falling Leaves" Apex Magazine
2014 Cornish, D MD M Cornish "The Fuller and the Bogle" Omnibus Books (Tales from the Half-Continent)
2014 Mudge, FaithFaith Mudge "Signature" Twelfth Planet Press (Kaleidoscope)
2015 Kalin, DeborahDeborah Kalin* "The Miseducation of Mara Lys" Twelfth Planet Press (Cherry Crow Children)
2015 Gaal, KimberleyKimberley Gaal "In Sheep's Clothing" Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 61
2015 Gaal, KimberleyKimberley Gaal "The Nexus Tree" CSFG (The Never Never Land)
2015 Mok, D. K.D. K. Mok "The Heart of the Labyrinth" Sorin Suciu (In Memory: A Tribute to Sir Terry Pratchett)
2015 Mudge, FaithFaith Mudge "Blueblood" Ticonderoga Publications (Hear Me Roar)
2015 Ward, Marlee JaneMarlee Jane Ward Welcome to Orphancorp Seizure
2016 Shallcross, LeifeLeife Shallcross* "Pretty Jennie Greenteeth" Belladonna Publishing (Strange Little Girls)
2016 Hannett, Lisa L.Lisa L. Hannett "A Right Pretty Mate" PS Australia (Dreaming in the Dark)
2016 Nicholls, JackJack Nicholls "Dune Time" Tor.com
2016 O'Meara, ShaunaShauna O'Meara "No One Here is Going to Save You" FableCroft Publishing (In Your Face)
2016 Roberts, Tansy RaynerTansy Rayner Roberts "Did We Break the End of the World" Twelfth Planet Press (Defying Doomsday)
2017 Roberts, Tansy RaynerTansy Rayner Roberts* Girl Reporter Book Smugglers
2017 Kaufman, AmieAmie Kaufman "One Small Step" HarperCollins Australia (Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology)
2017 Kostakis, WillWill Kostakis "I Can See the Ending" HarperCollins Australia (Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology)
2017 Moriarty, JaclynJaclyn Moriarty "Competition Entry #349" HarperCollins Australia (Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology)
2017 Pryor, MichaelMichael Pryor "First Casualty" HarperCollins Australia (Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology)
2017 Wilkinson, LiliLili Wilkinson "Oona Underground" HarperCollins Australia (Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology)
2018 O'Meara, ShaunaShauna O'Meara* "The Sea-Maker of Darmid Bay" Interzone 277
2018 Cope, LeeLee Cope "A Robot Like Me" Twelfth Planet Press (Mother of Invention)
2018 Mok, D. K.D. K. Mok "The Moon Collector" Owl Hollow Press (Under the Full Moon's Light)
2018 Ow, AnyaAnya Ow "Eight Step Koan" Ate Bit Bear (Sword and Sonnet)
2018 Sheldon, DeborahDeborah Sheldon "For Weirdless Days and Weary Nights" Breach 08
2019 Hart, JoJo Hart The Jindabyne Secret Deadset Press
2019 Nikakis, K. S.K. S. Nikakis Glass-Heart SOV Media
2019 Roberts, Tansy RaynerTansy Rayner Roberts "Dragon By Subscription" (self-published on Patreon)
2019 Teare, AndreaAndrea Teare "Seaweed" Breach 11
2019 van Neerven, EllenEllen van Neerven "Each City" Walker Books Australia (Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOZYA Stories)
2019 Ward, Marlee JaneMarlee Jane Ward "Rats" Walker Books Australia (Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOZYA Stories)
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