Ditmar Awards

The Ditmars are the Australian Science Fiction Achievement Awards.

The name arose via a joke. At a committee meeting to decide the name of the proposed award, lengthy discussions had gotten around to considering people the award might be named after. Someone suggested that a person thus honoured might be persuaded to fund the awards.

Dick (Martin James Ditmar) Jenssen seized an opportunity to relieve tedium by hazarding that he would be willing to pay for the awards if they were named "Ditmar" awards. What, he was asked, is a Ditmar? "Digital Integrating and Tabulating Mechanism for the Advancement of Research", he told them.

His offer was accepted, and he subsequently found himself paying for the awards for some years longer than he'd anticipated.

Nowadays, the awards process for the Ditmar Awards involves separate rounds for nominations and votes, but back in 1970 there was just a single round of voting. Also, a points system was used to determine winners that year.

In 1982, the Australian Natcon, Tschaicon, was billed as "the First Australasian SF Convention", and the Ditmar Awards presented that year were, at least in theory, Australasian awards.

In 2002, and again in 2010, Ditmar received a Ditmar. (Other instances of fans receiving awards named after themselves were when Forrest J Ackerman received a Forry Award in 2002 and K. Martin Carlson a Kaymar Award in 1984.)

In 2012, Robin Pen received a Ditmar Award for his "The Ballad of the Unrequited Ditmar", the Ditmar of that title being a Ditmar Award from the previous year.

William Atheling, Jr. Award

The William Atheling, Jr. Award for Criticism or Review is a Special Category under the Ditmar Awards. "The Athelings", as they are known for short, are awarded for excellence in SF and speculative criticism.

They are named for the pseudonym used by SF author James Blish for his critical writing.

The award was first presented as part of the Ditmar Award ceremony, at Bofcon, the 15th Australian National Science Fiction Convention in Melbourne in August 1976.

Nowadays, the William Atheling, Jr. Award for Criticism or Review is considered a Ditmar Award. However, there was a time when the constitution governing the Australian Natcons referred to it as a separate award. It is still classified as a "special award."

The history of nominations for the award indicates that it has not always been restricted to Australians. In 1989, the last year in which there was a Ditmar Award for International Fiction, there were published eligibility criteria for the William Atheling, Jr. Award that required the work to have been published in Australia, but did not require the author to be Australian.

Ditmar Award for Best Fannish Cat

In 1991, a Ditmar Award for Best Fannish Cat was presented at SunCon (in Brisbane, Australia). The Business Meeting at that convention voted to demote the award from a Ditmar Award to a Special Award of the Convention. However, that decision was reversed at the Business Meeting of the following Australian Natcon.

According to Bruce Gillespie, “The person who was Chair of the convention in Brisbane stuffed up many aspects of the convention. She was also part of a non-Melbourne group who believed that every aspect of the Ditmars was a cruel plot by Melbourne fans to keep all the Ditmars for themselves. So she allowed members of the convention to vote for the categories as well as the items in the categories. Irresistible bait to Melbourne fans in general — who ganged up to include Best Fannish Cat in the categories.”

This still rankled as late as 2005, when a Swancon XXX progress report calling for nominations for the Tin Duck Award exhorted, “Please do not invent new categories. (e.g. No Best Fannish Cat. We’ve heard it before, and it wasn’t funny the first time).”

But Dudcon III, in 2010, revived Best Fannish Cat as a non-Ditmar Special Award of the Convention. Rules required nominees to be “natural members of the species Felis Catus” alive and resident in Australia at the time of the nomination.

In both cases, noted Gillespie, “the winners were very popular cats who had been met by many Melbourne fans. The general effect was to confirm the suspicion of Perth fans that Melbourne fans ‘did not take the Ditmars seriously.’”

1991 Nominees for Best Fannish Cat

• Apple Blossom, humans: Elaine Cochrane & Bruce Gillespie
• Constantinople, human: Phil Wlodarczyk
• Emma Peel, human: Terry Frost
• Godzilla, humans: Ian Gunn & Karen Pender-Gunn
• Honey, humans: Gerald Smith & Womble
• Satan, human: Phil Wlodarczyk
• Truffle, humans: Mark Loney & Michelle Muijsert
• Typo (winner), human: Roger Weddall

2010 Nominees for Best Fannish Cat

• Tabby Allen, human: James Allen
• Felix Blackford, human: Jenny Blackford
• Peri Peri Canavan (winner), human: Trudi Canavan
• Flicker Gillespie, humans: Elaine Cochrane & Bruce Gillespie
• Pazuzu Sparks, humans: Cat Sparks & Robert Hood

Stuffed Cane Toads

Another 1991 scandal that pitted insurgents from Melbourne against sercon fen elsewhere in the country was the SunCon Ditmar trophies. Melburnian Mark Loney made awards of mounted taxidermied cane toads (a poisonous introduced pest endemic to Queensland, where the con was held). He intended them as a joke, to be presented at the ceremony, with the real Ditmars to be given at the closing ceremony.

The cane toads were presented, but the actual Ditmars trophies weren’t ready by the end of con. The real ones would be distributed later at a Nova Mob club meeting, but this did not placate the outraged.

Special Awards

Convention reports from 1971 indicate that the two Special Awards presented that year were considered to be Ditmar Awards.

Some Other Awards

The Ditmar Awards should not be confused with the Melbourne Science Fiction Club Achievement Award nor the Peter McNamara Achievement Award nor the Pat Terry Award for Humour in SF.

Award Results

Complete Ditmar Award Results

1969

Eighth Australian Science Fiction Convention, Melbourne

1969 Best Australian Science Fiction of any length, or collection

• Pacific Book Of Australian SF, John Baxter
• False Fatherland, A. Bertram Chandler (winner)
• "Final Flower," Stephen Cook

1969 Best International Science Fiction of any length, or collection

• An Age, Brian Aldiss
• Camp Concentration, Thomas M. Disch (winner)
• The Ring of Ritornel, Charles Harness

1969 Best Contemporary Writer of Science Fiction

• Brian Aldiss (winner)
• R. A. Lafferty
• Samuel R. Delany
• Roger Zelazny

1969 Best Australian Amateur Science Fiction Publication or Fanzine

• Australian Science Fiction Review, John Bangsund (winner)
• The Mentor, Ronald L. Clarke
• Rataplan, Leigh Edmonds

1970

Ninth Australian Science Fiction Convention, Melbourne

1970 Best Australian Science Fiction

• "Dancing Gerontius", Lee Harding (winner)
• "Anchor Man", Jack Wodhams
• "Split Personality," Jack Wodhams
• "The Kinsolving's Planet Irregulars", A. Bertram Chandler

1970 Best International Publication

• Amazing Stories
• Vision of Tomorrow (winner)

1970 Best International Fiction

• The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
• Cosmicomics, Italo Calvino (winner)

1970 Best Australian Fanzine

• SF Commentary, Bruce Gillespie
• The Journal of Omphalistic Epistemology, John Foyster (winner)

1971

Tenth Australian Science Fiction Convention, Melbourne

1971 Best Australian SF

• After Ragnarok, Robert Bowden
• "The Bitter Pill," A. Bertram Chandler (winner)
• Squat, David Rome

1971 Best International Fiction

• Time and the Hunter, Italo Calvino
• "The Region Between," Harlan Ellison
• Tower Of Glass, Robert Silverberg
• No Award (winner)

1971 Best Australian Fanzine

• SF Commentary, Bruce Gillespie
• The Somerset Gazette, Noel Kerr (winner)
• The New Forerunner, Gary Mason

1971 Special Awards

• SF in the Cinema, John Baxter
• Vision of Tomorrow, Ron Graham

1972

Syncon 2, Sydney

1972 Best Australian Fiction

• "What You Know", A. Bertram Chandler
• "Fallen Spaceman", Lee Harding (winner)
• "The Immortal", Olaf Ruhen
• "The Man Of Slow Feeling", Michael Wilding
• The Authentic Touch, Jack Wodhams

1972 Best International Fiction

• To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip José Farmer
• "Continued On Next Rock", R. A. Lafferty
• The Lathe Of Heaven, Ursula K. Le Guin
• Ringworld, Larry Niven (winner)
• A Time Of Changes, Robert Silverberg

1972 Best Australian Fanzine

• Scythrop, John Bangsund
• The Mentor, Ron L. Clarke
• The Fanarchist, David Grigg
• Chao, John Alderson
• SF Commentary, Bruce Gillespie (winner)

1973

Advention 2, Adelaide

1973 Best Australian Fiction

• The Hard Way Up, A. Bertram Chandler
• "Let it Ring", John Ossian (John Foyster – winner)
• "Gone Fishing", David Rome
• "Budnip", Jack Wodhams

1973 Best International Fiction

• The Gods Themselves, Isaac Asimov (winner)
• The Gorgon Festival, John Boyd
• The IQ Merchant, John Boyd
• Dying Inside, Robert Silverberg

1973 Best Dramatic Presentation

• Aussiefan (winner)
• A Clockwork Orange
• Slaughterhouse Five
• Tales From The Crypt

1973 Best Australian Fanzine

• Chao, John Alderson
• Gegenschein, Eric Lindsay
• Rataplan, Leigh Edmonds
• SF Commentary, Bruce Gillespie (winner)

1974

Ozcon, Melbourne (The programme book for the 1990 Natcon, Danse Macabre, records that no Ditmar Awards were presented in 1974.)

1975

Syncon '75, Sydney

1975 Best Australian SF

• The Bitter Pill, A. Bertram Chandler (winner)
• The Soft Kill, Colin Free
• "The Ark of James Carlyle", Cherry Wilder

1975 Best International Fiction

• Protector, Larry Niven
• The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin
• Frankenstein Unbound, Brian Aldiss

1975 Best Australian Fanzine

• Osiris, Del & Dennis Stocks (winner)
• Forerunner, Sue Clarke
• Fanew Sletter, Leigh Edmonds
• Chao, John Alderson
• Gegenschein, Eric Lindsay

1976

Bofcon, Melbourne

1976 Best Australian Fiction

• The Big Black Mark, A. Bertram Chandler (winner)
• "Way Out West", Cherry Wilder
• The Frozen Sky, Lee Harding (Ruled as ineligible, published in 1976)

1976 Best International Fiction

• The Indian Giver, Alfred Bester
• The Shockwave Rider, John Brunner
• The Forever War, Joe Haldeman (winner)
• Inferno, Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
• "Down to a Sunless Sea", Cordwainer Smith

1976 Best Australian Fanzine

• Chao, John Alderson
• Fanew Sletter, Leigh Edmonds (winner)
• Mad Dan's Review, Marc Ortlieb
• Osiris, Del & Dennis Stocks
• Interstellar Ramjet Scoop, Bill Wright

William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Algis Budrys, Foundation & Asimov
• James Gunn, Alternative Worlds
• David Ketterer, New Worlds For Old
• George Turner, Paradigm and Pattern; Form and Meaning in “The Dispossessed” (winner)
• George Turner, Philip Dick by 1975

1977

A-Con 7, Adelaide

1977 Best Australian Science Fiction

• "The Ins and Outs of the Hadhya City State", Phillipa Maddern
• Kelly Country, A. Bertram Chandler
• Future Sanctuary, Lee Harding
• Walkers on the Sky, David Lake (winner)

1977 Best International Fiction

• A World Out of Time, Larry Niven
• The Space Machine, Chris Priest (winner)
• The Hand of Oberon, Roger Zelazny
• "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", Richard Cowper

1977 Best Australian Fanzine

• SF Commentary, Bruce Gillespie (winner)
• Mad Dan's Review, Marc Ortlieb
• Enigma, Van Ikin
• South of Harad, East of Rhun, Jon Noble

1977 William Atheling, Jr . Award

• George Turner, "Theme as an Element of Fiction"
• George Turner, "The Jonah Kit" (winner)
• George Turner & Peter Nicholls, "Plumbers of the Cosmos"

1977 Special Committee Award

• "The Ins and Outs of the Hadhya City State", Phillipa Maddern

1978

Unicon IV, Melbourne

1978 Australian Science Fiction, Best Novel

• The Right Hand of Dextra, David Lake
• The Wildings of Westron, David Lake
• The Weeping Sky, Lee Harding
• The Luck of Brins Five, Cherry Wilder (winner)

1978 Australian Science Fiction, Best Short Fiction

• "Albert's Bellyful", Francis Payne (Yggdrasil, Feb. 1977) (winner)
• "Ignorant of Magic", Phillipa C. Maddern (View From The Edge)
• "The Two Body Problem", Bruce Barnes (View From The Edge)
• "The Long Fall", A. Bertram Chandler (Amazing, July 1977)

1978 Best International Fiction

• In the Hall Of the Martian Kings, John Varley, F&SF, Feb. 1977
• The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien (Allen & Unwin) (winner)
• Our Lady Of Darkness, (aka The Pale Brown Thing) Fritz Leiber, (Berkeley Putnam/F&SF, January–February 1977)
• A Dream of Wessex, Chris Priest (Faber)
• "The House of Compassionate Sharers", Michael Bishop (Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine No 1)
• The Silver in the Tree, Susan Cooper (Chatto & Windus)
• Gateway, Frederik Pohl (Gollancz or Ballantine)

1978 Best Amateur Australian Publication (Fanzine)

• Yggdrasil, Dennis Callegari & Alan Wilson
• Enigma, Van Ikin (winner)
• Minardor, Marc Ortlieb
• Fanew Sletter, Leigh Edmonds
• Epsilon Eridani Express, Neville J. Angove

1978 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• George Turner, "The Martial Art of SF Criticism", Yggdrasil, Feb, May & August 1977
• Andrew Whitmore, "The Novels of D.G. Compton", SF Commentary, No 52 (winner)
• Robert Scholes & Eric S. Rabkin, Science Fiction: History Science Vision, O.U.P
• George Turner, "The Silverberg Phenomenon", SF Commentary, No 51
• Van Ikin, "Review of 'Going'"

1979

Syncon '79, Sydney

1979 Best Australian Fiction

• To Keep The Ship, A. Bertram Chandler (DAW)
• Beloved Son, George Turner (Faber) (winner)
• Play Little Victims, Kenneth Cook (Pergamon Press)
• "Pie Row Joe", Kevin McKay, Rooms of Paradise (Quartet)

1979 Best International Fiction

• The Far Call, Gordon R. Dickson (Quantum)
• Dreamsnake, Vonda McIntyre (Houghton & Mifflin)
• Stardance II, Spider and Jeanne Robinson, Analog, September–November 1978
• "The Persistence of Vision", John Varley, F&SF, March 1978
• The White Dragon, Anne McCaffrey (winner)

1979 Best Australian Fanzine

• Forerunner, Jack R. Herman
• Yggdrasil, Dennis Callegari & Alan Wilson
• Scytale, Peter Toluzzi
• The Epsilon Eridani Express, Neville J. Angove
• Chunder!, John Foyster (winner)

1979 Best Australian Fanwriter

• Leanne Frahm
• John Bangsund
• Marc Ortlieb (winner)
• Anthony Peacy
• Eric Lindsay
• John Foyster

1979 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Susan Wood, "Women and Science Fiction" (Algol 33, 1978) (winner)
• John Bangsund, Parergon Papers 10 (ANZAPA, October 1978)
• John McPharlin, “On The Ebb Tide of the New Wave” (Auto Delerium, March 1978)
• Lloyd Biggle Jr, "The Morasses of Academe Revisited" (Analog, September 1978)

1980

Swancon 5, Perth

1980 Australian Fiction

• Moon in the Ground, Keith Antill
• Displaced Person, Lee Harding
• Australian Gnomes, Robert Ingpen (winner)
• "One Clay Foot", Jack Wodhams

1980 Best International Fiction

• The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (winner)
• Castle Roogna, Piers Anthony
• The Flight of Dragons, Peter Dickinson
• Dragondrums, Anne McCaffrey
• Titan, John Varley

1980 Best Australian Fanzine

• Bionic Rabbit, Damian Brennan
• The Wasffan, Roy Ferguson
• Chunder, John Foyster
• S.F. Commentary, Bruce Gillespie (winner)
• Forerunner, Jack Herman

1980 Best Australian Fanwriter

• Damian Brennan
• Roy Ferguson
• Leanne Frahm (winner)
• Jack R. Herman
• Marc Ortlieb

1980 Australian Fantasy/SF Artist

• Bevan Casey
• Chris Johnston
• Rob McGough
• John Packer
• Marilyn Pride (winner)
• Jane Taubman

1980 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Terry Dowling, "The Art of Xenography", Science Fiction 3
• Bruce Gillespie, "The Man Who Filled the Void" & "By Our Fruits", S.F. Commentary 55/56
• Jack R. Herman, "Paradox as Paradigm: A Review of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever", Forerunner, May 1979 (winner)
• George Turner, "Delany: A Victim of the Great Applause," Yggdrasil March 1979

1981

Advention '81, Adelaide

1981 Best Australian Novel

• The Dreaming Dragons, Damien Broderick (winner)
• Breathing Space Only, Wynne Whiteford
• Looking for Blucher, Jack Wodhams
• The Fourth Hemisphere, David Lake

1981 Best Australian Short Fiction

• "Deus Ex Corporus", Leanne Frahm (winner)
• "The Pastseer", Phillipa Maddern
• "Passage to Earth", Leanne Frahm
• "Horg", Jay Hoffman

1981 Best International Fiction

• Mockingbird, Walter Tevis
• The Snow Queen, Joan D. Vinge
• Timescape, Gregory Benford (winner)
• The Wounded Land, Stephen R. Donaldson

1981 Best Australian Fanzine

• Australian Science Fiction News, Mervyn R. Binns
• Q36, Marc Ortlieb (winner)
• Chunder!, John Foyster
• S.F. Commentary, Bruce Gillespie

1981 Best Australian Fanwriter

• Leigh Edmonds
• Leanne Frahm
• David Grigg
• Marc Ortlieb (winner)

1981 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Artist

• John Packer
• Marilyn Pride (winner)
• Jane Taubman
• Julie Vaux

1981 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Algis Budrys, "Charting Paradise"
• Christopher Priest, "Outside the Whale"
• John Sladek, "Four Reasons for Reading Thomas M. Disch"
• George Turner, "Frederik Pohl as a Creator of Future Societies", and "Samuel Delany: Victim of Great Applause" (winner)

1982

Tschaicon, Melbourne

Tschaicon was the “First Australasian Science Fiction Convention,” the Australian Natcon constitution having had "Australian" replaced with "Australasian" throughout; the award categories used "Australasian" rather than "Australian." During the con, the constitution was modified again, to have "Australasian" changed back to "Australian."

1982 Best Long Australasian Science Fiction or Fantasy

• The Anarch Lords, A. Bertram Chandler
• Bard, Keith Taylor
• Behind the Wind, Patricia Wrightson
• City of Women, David Ireland
• The Man Who Loved Morlocks, David Lake (winner)

1982 Best Short Australasian Science Fiction or Fantasy

• Armstrong, Jack Wodhams
• Tales of Mirric, Elizabeth Travers
• Where Silence Rules, Keith Taylor (winner)

1982 Best International Fiction

• The Affirmation, Chris Priest (winner)
• The Claw of the Conciliator, Gene Wolfe
• Radix, A.A. Attanasio
• The Sirian Experiments, Doris Lessing

1982 Best Australasian Fanzine

• Australian SF News, Mervyn R. Binns
• Q36, Marc Ortlieb (winner)
• S.F. Commentary, Bruce Gillespie
• Thyme, Andrew Brown and Irwin Hirsh
• Weberwoman's Wrevenge, Jean Weber

1982 Best Australasian Fanwriter

• Leigh Edmonds
• Judith Hanna
• Eric B. Lindsay
• Marc Ortlieb (winner)

1982 Best Australasian SF or Fantasy Artist

• Steph Campbell
• Chris Johnston
• John Packer
• Marilyn Pride (winner)

1982 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Damien Broderick, "The Lately Great Alfred Bester", S.F. Commentary 62/66
• Thomas Disch, "The Labor Day Group" F&SF, February 1981
• Bruce Gillespie, "Sing a Song of Daniel", S.F. Commentary 62/66 (winner)

1983

Syncon '83, Sydney

1983 Best Australian Science Fiction or Fantasy

• The Ones Who Walk Away Behind the Eyes, Terry Dowling, Omega, May 1982 (winner)
• The Lances of Nengesdul, Keith Taylor
• Vaneglory, George Turner

1983 Best International Fiction

• No Enemy But Time, Michael Bishop
• The One Tree, Stephen R. Donaldson
• Ridley Walker, Russell Hoban (winner)
• Roderick, John Sladek

1983 Best Australian Fanzine

• Ornithopter, Leigh Edmonds
• Q36, Marc Ortlieb (winner)
• Science Fiction, Van Ikin
• Thyme, Andrew Brown, Irwin Hirsh, Roger Weddall
• Weberwoman's Wrevenge, Jean Weber

1983 Best Australian Fanwriter

• Terry Dowling
• Leigh Edmonds
• Marc Ortlieb (winner)

1983 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Artist

• Kerrie Hanlon
• Chris Johnston
• Marilyn Pride (winner)
• Nick Stathopoulos

1983 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Cartoonist

• Terry Frost
• Michael McGann
• John Packer (winner)
• Jane Taubman
• Julie Vaux

1983 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Editor

• Neville Angove
• Mervyn Binns
• Ron L. Clarke
• Paul Collins
• Van Ikin (winner)
• Norstrilia Press - Rob Gerrand, Bruce Gillespie & Carey Handfield

1983 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Terry Dowling, "Kirth Gersen: The Other Demon Prince", Science Fiction 11 (winner)
• Terry Dowling, "The Lever of Life: Winning and Losing in the Fiction of Cordwainer Smith", Science Fiction 10
• Bruce Gillespie, S.F. Commentary, The First Year

1983 Special Award

• Robin Johnson, Contribution to Fandom

1984

Eurekacon, Melbourne

There were insufficient nominations for the William Atheling, Jr Award.

1984 Best Australian Long Science Fiction or Fantasy

• The Tempting of the Witch King, Russell Blackford (Cory & Collins)
• The Judas Mandala, Damien Broderick (Timescape)
• Valencies, Damien Broderick & Rory Barnes (University of Queensland Press)
• Kelly Country, Bertram Chandler (Penguin)
• Yesterday's Men, George Turner, (Faber) (winner)
• Thor's Hammer, Wynne Whiteford (Cory & Collins)

1984 Best Australian Short Science Fiction or Fantasy

• "Crystal Soldier", Russell Blackford (Dreamworks, ed. David King, Norstrilia Press)
• "Life the Solitude", Kevin McKay (Dreamworks, ed. David King, Norstrilia Press)
• "Land Deal", Gerald Murnane (Dreamworks, ed. David King, Norstrilia Press)
• "Above Atlas His Shoulders", Andrew Whitmore (Dreamworks, ed. David King, Norstrilia Press) (winner)

1984 Best International Fiction

• The Birth of the People's Republic of Antarctica, John Calvin Batchelor (Dial Press)
• The Tempting of the Witch King, Russell Blackford (Cory and Collins)
• Dr. Who (BBC)
• Pilgerman, Russell Hoban (Jonathan Cape)
• Yesterday's Men, George Turner (Faber)
• Thor's Hammer, Wynne Whiteford (Cory & Collins)
• No Award (winner)

1984 Best Australian Fanzine

• Australian Science Fiction News, Merv Binns
• Rataplan/Ornithopter, Leigh Edmonds (winner)
• Science Fiction, Van Ikin
• Thyme, Roger Weddall
• Wahf-full, Jack Herman

1984 Best Australian Fanwriter

• Leigh Edmonds (winner)
• Terry Frost
• Jack Herman
• Seth Lockwood

1984 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Artist

• Neville Bain
• Steph Campbell
• Mike Dutkiewicz
• Chris Johnston
• Nick Stathopoulos (winner)

1984 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Cartoonist

• Bill Flowers
• Terry Frost
• Craig Hilton
• Mike McGann
• John Packer (winner)
• Clint Strickland

1984 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Editor

• Paul Collins
• Van Ikin (winner)
• David King
• Norstrilia Press - Rob Gerrand, Bruce Gillespie & Carey Handfield

1985

Advention '85, Adelaide

1985 Best Australian Novel

• Beast of Heaven, Victor Kelleher (winner)
• The Last Amazon, A. Bertram Chandler
• The Wild Ones, A. Bertram Chandler
• Suburbs of Hell, Randolph Stow

1985 Best Australian Short Fiction

• "Terrarium", Terry Dowling, Omega, May/June 1984 (winner)
• "The Maze Man", Terry Dowling, Men's Journal, Summer 1984
• "Resurrection", Damien Broderick, IASFM, August 1984
• "Three Star Trek", Ron Ferguson, Omega, Sept/October 1984

1985 Best International Fiction

• Neuromancer, William Gibson (Ace) (winner)
• The Final Encyclopedia, Gordon R. Dickson (Tor)
• Native Tongues, Suzette Haden Elgin, (DAW)
• Damiano's Lute, R. A. MacAvoy (Bantam)

1985 Best Australian Fanzine

• Australian SF News, Merv Binns (winner)
• The Mentor, Ron L. Clarke
• Rataplan, Leigh Edmonds
• Science Fiction, Van Ikin

1985 Best Australian Fanwriter

• Leigh Edmonds (winner)
• David Grigg
• Leanne Frahm
• Yvonne Rousseau

1985 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Artist, Cartoonist or Illustrator

• Nick Stathopoulos (winner)
• Craig Hilton
• Kerrie Hanlon
• Peter Reading

1985 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Editor

• Paul Collins
• Van Ikin
• Philip Gore
• Bruce Gillespie (winner)

1985 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Dramatic Presentation

• Boiling Frog, Stage play with productions in Adelaide & Sydney
• Beach Blanket Tempest, Rock Fantasy stage musical (Half Moon Production)
• Iceman, Fred Schepisi, Director
• Iceman, Bruce Smeaton, Musical score
• Thief of Sydney, Animated feature 15 minutes
• Kindred Spirits, ABC Telemovie (winner)

1985 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• George Turner, In The Heart or in the Head (winner)
• John Foyster, Article on George Turner, ASFN 1984
• Damien Broderick, SF Reviews, "The Age", 1984
• John Baxter, SF Reviews, The Australian, 1984

1986

Swancon XI, Perth

1986 Best Australian Science Fiction Novel

• Landscape With Landscapes, Gerald Murnane (Norstrilia)
• Illywacker, Peter Carey (UQP) (winner)
• Changelings of Cha'an, David Lake (Hyland House)
• The Transing Syndrome, Kurt von Trojan (Rigby)

1986 Best Australian Short Fiction

• "The Twist of Fate", David Grigg, Urban Fantasies
• "Glass Reptile Breakout", Russell Blackford, Strange Attractors
• "Montage", Lucy Sussex, Urban Fantasies
• "The Fittest", George Turner, Urban Fantasies
• "Lipton Village Society", Lucy Sussex, Strange Attractors
• "The Bullet That Grows in the Gun", Terry Dowling, Urban Fantasies (winner)

1986 Best International Fiction

• Devil in a Forest, Gene Wolfe (Granada)
• Tik-Tok, John Sladek (Corgi)
• Free Live Free, Gene Wolfe (Gollancz)
• Peace, Gene Wolfe (Chatto)
• Compass Rose, Ursula K. Le Guin (Bantam, also Underwood & Miller, and Harper and Row) (winner)
• Elleander Morning, Jerry Yulsman (Orbit/Futura)

1986 Best Australian Fanzine

• The Notional, Leigh Edmonds
• The Metaphysical Review, Bruce Gillespie (winner)
• Thyme, Roger Weddall & Peter Burns
• Tigger, Marc Ortlieb
• Sikander, Irwin Hirsh

1986 Best Australian Fanwriter

• Bruce Gillespie
• Damien Broderick
• Leigh Edmonds (winner)
• Yvonne Rousseau
• Marc Ortlieb

1986 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Artist

• Lewis Morley
• John Packer
• Betty deGabrielle
• Nick Stathopoulos (winner)
• Marilyn Pride
• Craig Hilton

1986 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Norman Talbot
• Russell Blackford
• George Turner, "Neuromancer et al." (winner)
• Yvonne Rousseau

1987

Capcon, Canberra

1987 Best Australian Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

• Bard III: The Wild Sea, Keith Taylor (Ace) (winner)
• "Oasis", Patrick Urth, Aphelion 1–4
• Taronga, Victor Kelleher (Viking Kestrel)
• The Black Grail, Damien Broderick (Avon)
• Adventures of Christian Rosy Cross, David Foster (Penguin)

1987 Best Australian Science Fiction or Fantasy Short Fiction

• "Shut the Door When You Go Out", George Turner, Aphelion 4
• "The Man Who Lost Red", Terry Dowling (winner)
• "Time of the Star", Terry Dowling, Aphelion 3
• "A Dragon Between His Fingers", Terry Dowling, Omega, May/June
• "For the Man Who Has Everything", Chris Simmons, Aphelion 1

1987 Best Australian Fanzine

• The Space Wastrel, Mark Loney, Michelle Muijsert, Julian Warner
• Motional, Anonymous
• Larrikin, Irwin Hirsh & Perry Middlemiss
• Metaphysical Review, Bruce Gillespie
• Thyme, Roger Weddall and Peter Burns (winner)

1987 Best Australian SF or Fantasy Artist

• Craig Hilton (winner)
• Nick Stathopoulos
• Kerrie Hanlon
• Betty deGabriele
• John Packer

1987 Outstanding Contribution to Australian Fandom

• Carey Handfield, T. R. O. (The Real Official) (winner)
• Jessica Aldridge
• Peter McNamara
• Michelle Muijsert
• John Foyster

1987 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Russell Blackford, Debased and Lascivious (winner)
• Dave Luckett
• Margaret Winch, Frank's Tank
• Michael J. Tolley

1988

Conviction, Sydney

1988 Best Australian Long Fiction

• For as Long as You Burn, Terry Dowling, Aphelion 5 (winner)
• The Makers, Victor Kelleher (Viking, Kestrel)
• Bard IV: Raven's Gathering, Keith Taylor (Ace)
• The Sea and the Summer, George Turner (Faber)
• The Hyades Contact, Wynne Whiteford (Ace)

1988 Best Australian Short Fiction

• The Dirty Little Unicorn, Stephen Dedman
• "The Last Elephant", Terry Dowling, Australian Short Stories #20 (winner)
• "Marmordesse", Terry Dowling, Omega, January 1987
• "The Supramarket", Leanne Frahm, Doom City
• "The Celestial Intervention Agency", Karen Herkes, Time Loop #70

1988 Best Australian Fanzine

• Australian Science Fiction Review, Melbourne Collective, eds.
• Larrikin, Irwin Hirsh, Perry Middlemiss
• Science Fiction, Van Ikin (winner)
• The Space Wastrel, Mark Loney, Michelle Muijsert, Julian Warner

1988 Best Australian Fan Writer

• Karen Herkes
• Jack R. Herman
• Irwin Hirsh
• Van Ikin
• Perry Middlemiss (winner)

1988 Best Fan Artist

• Donna Angus
• Kerrie Hanlon
• Craig Hilton
• David Kenyon
• Stephen McArthur
• Lewis Morley (winner)

1988 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Russell Blackford, "Deconstructing the Demon: John Calvin Batchelor's Novels" ASFR #11
• Richard Erlich & Peter Hall, "A Prefilmic, Post-Poststructurialist Prostruction of Alien/Alien3", ASFR #11
• John Foyster, Review of Trillion Year Spree, ASFR #7
• Van Ikin, "Mirror Reversals and the Tolkien Writing Game", Science Fiction #25 (winner)
• Susan Margaret, "Structural Analysis of SF. Why?", The Space Wastrel
• Janeen Webb, "I Know Who I Am, But What is my Brand Name?"

1989

Swancon 14, Perth

1989 Best Australian Long Fiction

• Striped Holes, Damien Broderick (Avon) (winner)
• West of the Moon, David Lake (Hyland)
• Huaco of the Golden God, Carolyn Logan (A&R)
• Beyond The Labyrinth, Gillian Rubinstein, (Hyland)

1989 Best Australian Short Fiction

• "A Tale of Nine Cats", Katherine Cummings, Conviction Programme Book
• "Scatter My Ashes", Greg Egan, Interzone #23
• "Things Fall Apart", Philippa Maddern, Matilda at the Speed of Light
• "The Colors of the Masters", Sean McMullen, F&SF March 1988
• "My Lady Tongue", Lucy Sussex, Matilda at the Speed of Light (winner)

1989 Best International Fiction

• Dawn, Octavia Butler (Gollancz)
• Seventh Son, Orson Scott Card (Legend) (winner)
• Aegypt, John Crowley (Gollancz)
• Mona Lisa Overdrive, William Gibson (Gollancz)
• On Stranger Tides, Tim Powers (Grafton)
• Life During Wartime, Lucius Shepard (Grafton)
• Islands in the Net, Bruce Sterling (Century)

1989 Best Australian Fanzine

• ASFR, The Science Fiction Collective
• Get Stuffed, Jacob Blake (winner)
• Larrikin, Perry Middlemiss & Irwin Hirsh
• Science Fiction, Van Ikin

1989 Best Australian Fanwriter

• Bruce Gillespie (winner)
• Jack Herman
• Van Ikin
• Perry Middlemiss

1989 Best Fan Artist

• Ian Gunn (winner)
• Kerrie Hanlon
• Craig Hilton
• Mike McGann
• Kiera McKenzie
• Phil Wlodarczyk

1989 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Russell Blackford, ASFR articles (winner)
• Martin Bridgestock, "Sea & Summer", ASFR, and "Counter Earth/Counter Humanity", Metaphysical Review
• Janeen Webb, ASFR articles
• Arthur Webster, "Speaker for the Dead", Get Stuffed

1990

Danse Macabre, Melbourne

1990 Best Australian Long Fiction

• Victor Kelleher, The Red King (Viking Kestrel)
• Keith Taylor, The Sorcerer's Sacred Isle (Ace)
• Wynne Whiteford, Lake of the Sun (Ace) (winner)

1990 Best Australian Short Fiction

• Terry Dowling, "The Quiet Redemption of Andy the House", Australian Short Stories #26 (June 1989) (winner)
• Rosaleen Love, "If You Go Down to the Park Today", Total Devotion Machine
• Rosaleen Love, "Total Devotion Machine", Total Devotion Machine
• Petrina Smith, "Over the Edge", Mirrors: Redress Novellas

1990 Best Australian Fanzine

• ASFR, SF Collective
• Ethel the Aardvark, Melbourne Science Fiction Club (winner)
• Get Stuffed, Jacob Blake
• Sweetness and Light, Jack Herman

1990 Best Australian Fanwriter

• Terry Frost
• Bruce Gillespie (winner-tie)
• Ian Gunn (winner-tie)
• Jack R. Herman
• Yvonne Hintz
• Alan Stewart

1990 Best Fan Artist

• Ian Gunn (winner)
• Kerrie Hanlon
• Craig Hilton
• Phil Wlodarczyk

1990 William Atheling, Jr. Award

Withdrawn for insufficient nominations.

1991

Suncon, Brisbane

1991 Best Fannish Cat

• Apple Blossom, humans: Elaine Cochrane & Bruce Gillespie
• Constantinople, human: Phil Wlodarczyk
• Emma Peel, human: Terry Frost
• Godzilla, humans: Ian Gunn & Karen Pender-Gunn
• Honey, humans: Gerald Smith & Womble
• Satan, human: Phil Wlodarczyk
• Truffle, humans: Mark Loney & Michelle Muijsert
• Typo, human: Roger Weddall (winner)

1991 Best Australian Novel or Anthology

• A Pursuit of Miracles, George Turner(Aphelion)
• Fortress of Eternity, Andrew Whitmore (Avon)
• My Lady Tongue and Other Tales, Lucy Sussex (William Heinemann)
• Rynosseros, Terry Dowling (Aphelion) (winner)
• The Specialist, Wynne Whiteford (Ace)

1991 Best Australian Short Fiction

• "Generation Gap", George Turner, A Pursuit of Miracles (Aphelion)
• "God and Her Black Sense of Humour", Lucy Sussex, My Lady Tongue and Other Tales (William Heinemann)
• "Red Ochre", Lucy Sussex, My Lady Tongue and Other Tales (William Heinemann)
• "The Caress", Greg Egan, Isaac Asimov's SF Magazine, January 1990
• "Turtle Soup", Rosaleen Love, Eidolon, December 1990
• "While the Gate is Open", Sean McMullen, F&SF, March 1990 (winner)

1991 Best Fanzine

• Australian Science Fiction Review, (Second Series), Science Fiction Collective (winner)
• Doxa!, Roman Orszanski
• Doxy, John Foyster
• Ethel the Aardvark, Alan Stewart
• Pink, Karen Pender-Gunn
• StunGunn, Ian Gunn

1991 Best Australian Fan Artist

• Ian Gunn (winner)
• Craig Hilton
• Marion Plumridge
• Phil Wlodarczyk

1991 Best Australian Fan Writer

• Terry Frost
• Bruce Gillespie (winner)
• Ian Gunn
• Marc Ortlieb
• Alan Stewart

1991 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• Russell Blackford, "Analogues of Anomie: Lee Harding's Novels" in Science Fiction 30 & Australian Science Fiction Review (Second Series)
• Bruce Gillespie, "The Non-SF Novels of Philip K. Dick" presented at the Nova Mob and published in ANZAPA (winner)
• Peter Nicholls, "Fantastic World" reviews in the Melbourne Sunday Herald
• Alan Stewart, Reviews in Ethel the Aardvark and SF Commentary

1992

Syncon, Sydney

1992 Best Novel or Collection

• From Sea to Shining Star, A. Bertram Chandler
• Wormwood, Terry Dowling (winner)
• Brother Night, Victor Kelleher
• Del-Del, Victor Kelleher
• Brainchild, George Turner

1992 Best Short Fiction

• "Vanities", Terry Dowling
• "Nobody's Fool", Terry Dowling
• "A Deadly Edge Their Red Beaks Pass Along", Terry Dowling
• "Olive Truffles", Leanne Frahm
• "The Dominant Style", Sean McMullen
• "Alone in his Chariot", Sean McMullen (winner)

1992 Best Fanzine

• Eidolon, Jeremy Byrne (winner)
• Ethel the Aardvark, Alan Stewart
• Inconsequential Parallax, Tim Richards & Narrelle Harris
• Thyme, LynC & Clive Newall
• Thyme, Greg Hills & Mark Loney

1992 Best Fan Writer

• James Allen
• Terry Frost
• Bruce Gillespie (winner)
• Greg Hills
• Alan Stewart

1992 Best SF or Fantasy Artist

• Ian Gunn (winner)
• Craig Hilton
• Nick Stathopoulos
• Phil Wlodarczyk

1992 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• "Jonathan Carroll, Storyteller", Bruce Gillespie
• "Going Commercial", Sean McMullen (winner)
• Review of The Fantastic Civil War, Blair Ramage

1992 Special Award for Services to Fandom

• Susan Batho
• Ron Clarke
• Jack Herman

1993

Swancon 18, Perth

1993 Best Long Fiction

• Blue Tyson, Terry Dowling
• Quarantine, Greg Egan (winner)
• Back Door Man, Ian M. Hails
• Call to the Edge, Sean McMullen
• Brainchild, George Turner
• And Disregards the Rest, Paul Voermans

1993 Best Short Fiction

• "Privateer's Moon", Terry Dowling
• "Ship's Eye", Terry Dowling
• "Closer", Greg Egan (winner)
• "Worthless", Greg Egan
• "The Seas of Castle Hill Road", Rick Kennett
• "It's All in the Way You Look at It", Michael Pryor

1993 Best Periodical

• Slow Glass Books Catalog, Justin Ackroyd
• Eidolon, [[Jeremy Byrne] (winner)
• Ethel the Aardvark, Alan Stewart
• Thyme, Alan Stewart
• Aurealis, Dirk Strasser & Stephen Higgins

1993 Best Fan Writer

• Paul Ewings
• Terry Frost
• Robin Pen (winner)
• Karen Pender-Gunn
• Alan Stewart
• Roger Weddall

Best Artwork

• "Fanimals", Ian Gunn
• Space Time Buckaneers, Ian Gunn
• 1992 Ditmar Award, Lewis Morley
• Cover art for Blue Tyson, Nick Stathopoulos (winner)
• "Relics", Shaun Tan
• "Snowman", Leisl Yvette

1993 William Atheling, Jr. Award

• "Five Go Camping with 12-01 Club", Paul Ewings
• "James Morrow and the Erni", Bruce Gillespie
• "Australian SF Art Turns 50", Sean McMullen (winner)
• "From Fantasy to Gallileo", Sean McMullen
• Reviews in Ethel the Aardvark, Karen Pender-Gunn

2020

Swancon 2020, Perth

The convention was cancelled due to Covid-19. There were insufficient nominations for the Best Artwork and Best Fan Artist categories. The awards ceremony was held online with short notice on 19 September 2020. The date conflicted with Rosh Hashana, which meant that neither the Best Novel nor the Best Short Fiction winners could participate.

2020 Best Novel

• Claiming T-Mo, Eugen Bacon, Meerkat Press.
• The Year of the Fruit Cake, Gillian Polack, IFWG Publishing Australia (winner).

2020 Best Short Fiction

• "into bones like oil", Kaaron Warren, Meerkat Press.
• "Whom My Soul Loves", Rivqa Rafael, in Strange Horizons, 11 November 2019 (winner).

2020 Best Collected Work

• Collision, J. S. Breukelaar, Meerkat Press.

2020 Best Fan Publication in Any Medium

• Be The Serpent podcast, Alexandra Rowland, Jennifer Mace and Freya Marske (winner-tie)
• SF Commentary, Bruce Gillespie (winner-tie).

2020 Best Fan Writer

• Bruce Gillespie, for writing in SF Commentary.
• Elizabeth Fitzgerald, for reviews in Skiffy and Fanty (winner).

2020 Best New Talent

• Freya Marske (winner).

2020 William Atheling, Jr. Award for Criticism or Review

• Eugen Bacon, for Writing Speculative Fiction, Red Globe Press.
• Grant Watson, for reviews on FictionMachine (winner).

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Award

Website

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This is an award page. If you know something about it, such as who awarded it, who the winners were, what the criteria were, and when it was awarded, please add it! See Standards for Awards.