***<\/p>\n
For anyone active in the Australian speculative fiction scene, the annual national SF award, the Ditmars, are now open for nominations.\u00a0Why not nominate your favourite speculative fiction story or novel by an Australian author from 2012?<\/p>\n
The Ditmars also include lots of ancillary categories for fan writing, artist etc. There are a lot of excellent reviewers out there in the Australian scene, such as Sean the Bookonaut<\/a> or Alex Pierce<\/a>,\u00a0that are worth your attention.<\/p>\n Speaking of what to nominate, if like me you don’t remember what was released in 2012, or how long your favourite story was, you can go to the excellent Ditmar eligibility wiki\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get your nominating skates on!\u00a0Nominations can be lodged\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n The speculative fiction podcast Galactic Suburbia has given out their annual award for “activism and\/ or communication that advances the feminist conversation in the field of speculative fiction in 2012”. And this year the award went to Elizabeth Lhuede for the Australian Women Writers’ Challenge<\/a>.<\/p>\n Details can be found here<\/a>, as well as links to the podcast where they announce the award.<\/p>\n I enjoyed my participation in the 2012 challenge<\/a>, and found it an excellent catalyst for expanding my circle of reading.\u00a0Congratulations to Elizabeth, a very well deserved award!<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n One of the most frequently reviewed books in the 2012 Australian Women Writers’ challenge, Sea Hearts<\/em> by Margo Lanagan, has been long listed for the inaugural Stella Prize, a new major literary award for Australian women\u2019s writing. See the full long list here<\/a>\u00a0and more details about the prize here<\/a>.<\/p>\n There have been many reviews of Sea Hearts<\/em>, including one by yours truly here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Congratulations Margo!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/p>\n <\/p>Hi,\n