Aurealis Awards

I was plowing through the To-Do list this morning (it included such items as “eat breakfast” and “shower”, because on days like this, if it’s not on the list, it’s not getting done) when I got an email from Editor S.

Despite the fact that “triage email” was further down the list, I have never been able to resist the allure of Inbox (1).

Also, the subject was “SQUUEEEEEEEEAALLL!!”

There was no actual content. Instead, there was an attachment containing the Aurealis Awards Finalists press release.

From these FIENDISHLY DIFFICULT CLUES, I deduced that Guardian of the Dead might be listed, and clicked in nervous anticipation.

At the same time, my phone beeped. It was a text from the lovely Tessa.

The Lovely Tessa: “You’re up for an Aurealis!”
Me: “In the divine words of Ms Gwen Stefani, this shit is bananas.”
The Lovely Tessa: “B A N A N A S”

So, yes! Guardian of the Dead is indeed a finalist in the Young Adult Novel section, along with Merrow (Ananda Braxton-Smith), The Midnight Zoo (Sonya Hartnett), The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher (Doug Macleod) and Behemoth (some guy who fed me this weekend).

The full list can be seen in the press release linked here. It is a very, very good list. Congratulations to all the nominees!

  • Ananda Braxton-Smith

    Hiya Karen: Heeeee heeee heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, eh? And congratulations to you too. I’d just finished reading Guardian, and telling my mother (a very important and beloved person) how great I thought it was, when I found out about the shortlist. So I felt doubly pleased: first because I AM ON IT, and second because I’d picked your book as great.
    You and I are on a panel together at Reading Matters — well, you probably know that — and I look forward to it with a profound looking forwardness. Again, well done, you. It’s very enheartening isn’t it? Cheers, Ananda