The winners of the Australian Shadows Awards for works published in 2020 have been announced!
I was convenor of the Poetry judging panel this year. After having served my time on the short stories judging panel for the last couple of years, with over a hundred entries a year in that category, poetry was a different experience. There were far fewer entries, perhaps unsurprisingly, but if there’s one message I’d put out to the horror writing scene it’s to not forget your poetry! Write it, share it, publish it, and make sure you enter it.
While a smaller pool, every poetry entry was of incredibly high standard and it was extremely difficult to select the finalists, let alone a final winner. That said, Hester J Rook’s winning entry was simply fabulous and we just couldn’t go past it for the top gong.
A full list of all finalists and shortlisted entries can be found here, and I thoroughly recommend having a look at it and adding to your To Be Read piles. Or go check out previous winners from past years for even more reading goodness.
Last but not least, here’s the final list of winners for this year – congratulations to all!
- Poetry: ‘This Soundless Murk’ by Hester J Rook (The Future Fire)
- Non-Fiction: Exploration of Menstruation in Horror and Dark Fiction by Tabatha Wood
- Graphic Novel: Hellblazer: Rise and Fall by Tom Taylor and Darick Robertson (DC Comics)
- Edited Works: Midnight Echo Issue 15, ed. Lee Murray (AWHA)
- Collected Words: The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners by Angela Slatter (PS Publishing)
- Short Fiction: ‘Brumation’ by Anthony Ferguson (Midnight Echo Issue 15, ed. Lee Murray, AHWA)
- Long Fiction: ‘By Touch and By Glance’ by Lisa L Hannett (Songs for Dark Seasons, Ticonderoga Publications)
- Novel: Deception Pass by Matthew Tait (Dark Crib)