|
TOP
Bios
Science Fiction: Novel
Ian Nichols - Convenor, Daniella Tidman, Carol Wical and Stephen Burgess
Ian Nichols has been actively involved speculative fiction and fandom for more than 30 years as a writer, reviewer and academic. He has written reviews for Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine and the West Australian newspaper, published numerous short stories and is currently undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing. He also wants a pony.
Daniella Tidman sometimes thinks she has more genre books at home than some of the bookstores in which she has worked. Currently employed at Infinitas Bookshop, she walks the tightrope in selecting good quality books that will also entice the paying public.
Carol Wical is an academic exploring the representation of women in popular culture and is a researcher for AustLit: the Resource for Australian Literature. In 2001, she won the Scarlet Stiletto Police Procedural Award for 'The Case of Friday Night Clive'.
Stephen Burgess has been reading science fiction and fantasy since he was child and still manages to get through about a book a day when he gets the chance despite running his own business. Stephen has a particular interest in local authors and would love to see a greater emphasis on Australian genre writers.
TOP
Science Fiction: Short Story
Helen Merrick - Convenor, Robert Stoner, Jervina Dorney and Jon Doyle
Helen Merrick is academic who specializes in science fiction and fantasy. Apart from being a previous Aurealis Award judge, Helen has also been a judge for the respected James Tiptree Award in the US. She has contributed to the Cambridge Companion to SF and the forthcoming Routledge Companion to SF.
Robert Stoner works for the Brisbane City Council Library and has been an avid reader of SF and fantasy literature for 20 years. From 2002 to 2005 he participated in the One Book, One Brisbane competition to encourage reading in the local community and has also run an online book club which encouraged monthly analysis and discussion of the selected work.
Jervina Dorney's tastes in fiction run from space-opera to military fiction to epic and urban fantasy. Jervina works as a developer with a software company.
Jon Doyle is a librarian who tries to ensure there is always a good representation of genre fiction on the shelves. He likes the old masters such as Asimov and Zelazny but also is also a fan of newer authors like China Mieville and Richard Morgan.
TOP
Fantasy: Novel
Tehani Wessely - Convenor, Kira Sampson, Lynne Green and Sharron Campbell
Tehani Wessely is a founding member and occasional editor Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine as well as a teacher librarian (and fiction purchaser) for a secondary school in a quiet country town in western Queensland. She is also a keen reviewer of local speculative fiction and loves plowing through the slush pile at Andromeda Spaceways looking for the next great gem.
Kira Sampson is an English and History teacher at a private girls school. She is an avid reader across all genres but has a special love for fantasy and regularly seeks out Australian authors in particular.
Lynne Green has written the monthly science page for Voyager Online, the Harper Collins website for speculative fiction since 2001. She has twice been nominated for an Aurealis Award for her short stories.
Sharron Campbell is prodigious reader of fantasy and has worked for Pulp Fiction Books and Pages Booksellers. In her current job as a lawyer for the public service she reads plenty of fantasy which will not be nominated for an Aurealis Award - but some of which should be.
TOP
Fantasy: Short Story
Bill Congreve - Convenor, Joseph B Hewitt IV, Deonie Fiford and Michelle Marquardt
Bill Congreve is a Sydney-based writer, editor, book reviewer and publisher. He has a BA in Communications and has received a William J. Atheling award for genre criticism. Together with his co-editor Michelle Marquardt, he edits of The Year's Best Australian SF & Fantasy collections. In 2006, Bill was awarded the Peter McNamara Award for his contribution to Australian speculative fiction.
Joseph B Hewitt IV is a senior game designer with Auran Games and has also worked for Sony Online Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and Westwood Studios. He is avid fan of science fiction and fantasy and written a number of short stories. He also has a long and torrid history with live action role playing, local theatre and improvisational comedy.
Deonie Fiford has more than ten years experience as an editor within the Australian publishing industry. She currently works for Hachette Livre (formerly Hodder Headline) and has previously worked for HarperCollins on a range of fiction and non-fiction projects.
Michelle Marquardt lives in Sydney, holds an honours degree in veterinary science and wishes there were more hours in each day. Her first science fiction novel, Blue Silence, won the George Turner Prize in 2000 and was short listed for both the Aurealis and Ditmar awards. Together with Bill Congreve she co-edits of The Year's Best Australian SF & Fantasy.
TOP
Horror
Shane Jiraiya Cummings - Convenor, Paul Landymore, Siall Waterbright, Dr Toni Johnson-Woods and Anna Hepworth
Shane Jiraiya Cummings is a Ditmar Award-winning writer and editor of dark fiction. He has published more than 50 dark fiction short stories and has edited a number of anthologies including Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2006 edition and Shadow Box. Shane is also the managing editor of HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Weblog, a former committee member of the Australian Horror Writers Association, and co-founder of Brimstone Press, Australia's dark fiction publisher.
Siall Waterbright is a reviewer, university tutor in creative writing and cultural studies and poet. She has combined her ongoing PhD research project involving a comparative study speculative fiction and stories of transformation with a collection of short stories and poetry.
Dr Toni Johnson-Woods lectures in speculative fiction, reviews crime fiction (mainly for the Sydney Morning Herald) and has written three popular non-fiction novels (on Big Brother, Pulp Fiction and South Park). Dr Johnson-Woods has been a judge for the Ned Kelly Awards (2000-2006) and the ALS Gold Medal Literary Awards (2005).
Anna Hepworth is a founding editor of Borderlands magazine and a convenor for the 2008 National Science Fiction Convention SwanCon 2008.A statistician by training, Anna currently divides her time between raising children; reading, editing and publishing science/speculative fiction; working in her chosen field; and a myriad of other hobbies.
TOP
Young Adult
Angela Slatter - Convenor, Alex Adsett, Karen Miller, Gillian Polack and Dianne de Bellis
Angela Slatter is doing a PhD in creative writing and has written a number of short stories and articles about writing. Her work has appeared in such diverse places as Shimmer, Antipodean SF, Walking Bones Magazine, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet and the Kiwi Property Investment magazine.
Alex Adsett currently works in the Rights and Contracts department of Penguin Books after spending more than 10 years in publishing and book trade. She has worked for bookstores such as Pulp Fiction Books in Brisbane and Murder One in London as well as spending two years at Simon and Schuster (UK) while overseas.
Karen Miller has a Master's degree in Children Literature and is a popular Australian fantasy and SF media tie-in author. Her novel, the Innocent Mage, was nominated for an Aurealis Award in 2005 and Karen also reviews international speculative fiction for Ticonderoga Online.
Gillian Polack is a writer, historian and educator. The author of numerous short stories, her first novel, Illuminations, was published in 2002. Gillian's work in progress currently seems to involve a large number of dinner parties with delectable cuisine. Gillian is also working on a non-fiction project on how modern fiction writers use the Middle Ages.
Dianne de Bellis has been a convenor and judge for Aurealis Awards since 1997, judging in most categories. Dianne is a technical writer, writing promotion assessment reports for various government departments. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Professional and Creative Communnication, majoring in writing and cultural studies.
TOP
Children's
Dr Katherine Phelps - Convenor, Mim Crase, Cynthia Rohner and Emily Phillip
Dr Katherine Phelps is the author of Surf's Up: Internet Australian Style. She has been an editor for literary magazines Bricolage and Seattle Review and was the editor-in-chief for Megazone Electronic Entertainment Magazine. Her website, www.glasswings.com.au, is Australia's oldest commercial literary digizine and she has taught within the Professional Writing and Editing Department at RMIT.
Mim Crase is a teacher librarian in Hughenden in Northern Queensland (halfway between Townsville and Mt Isa. During her career she has shared a love of literature with children in urban, rural and international environments.
Cynthia Rohner has been a teacher in high schools as well as primary schools and gone on to work as a tutor and lecturer in adolescent issues. She is an aspiring Young Adult author with a couple of small writing credits under her belt and is therefore now addicted to writing more.
Emily Philip is a Brisbane bookseller and reviewer. Her love of reading SF and fantasy began with the accidental discovery of "The Lord of The Rings" on her family's bookshelf and she has since come to love speculative fiction and especially books about time travel.
TOP | 
