The winners of the Aurora-Boréal, given out at the 30th Boréal convention in Montréal, were announced on May 5. The award honors speculative fiction works created by Canadians in French.
- Aurora-Boréal Award for Best Novel: Transtaïga, by Ariane Gélinas
- Aurora-Boréal Award for Best Short Fiction: “Le Chasseur,” [The Hunter] by Geneviève Blouin
- Aurora-Boréal Award for Best Related Work: Solaris, edited by Joël Champetier
- Boréal Award for Artistic and Audiovisual Achievement: Ève Chabot, for illustrations in the magazine Brins d’éternité
- Boréal award for Best Fan Publication: Brins d’éternité
- Boréal award for the one-hour writing contest at the convention (Professional): Geneviève Blouin for her short story “Trou noir de mémoire”
- Boréal award for the one-hour writing contest at the convention (Rising author): Dave Côté for his short story “Brouillard”
For more information…
The 2013 Aurora award ballot for work done in 2012 by Canadians has been announced. Any member of CSFFA can vote for the awards between May 6 and Sept. 13. The awards will be presented at Can-Con the weekend of Oct 4 – 6.
Best Novel – English
- Destiny’s Fall, by Marie Bilodeau
- Food for the Gods, by Karen Dudley
- Healer’s Sword: Part 7 of the Okal Rel Saga, by Lynda Williams
- The Silvered, by Tanya Huff
- Thunder Road, by Chadwick Ginther
- Triggers, by Robert J. Sawyer
Best YA Novel – English
- Above, by Leah Bobet
- The Calling, by Kelley Armstrong
- Dissolve, by Neil Godbout
- Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero, by Michell Plested
- Pirate Cinema, by Cory Doctorow
- Under My Skin: Wildlings Series, by Charles de Lint,
Best Short Fiction – English
- “Delta Pi,” by Matt Moore
- “Happily Ever After,” by Marie Bilodeau,
- “Knights Exemplar,” by Al Onia
- “Synch Me, Kiss Me, Drop,” by Suzanne Church
- “The Walker of the Shifting Borderland,” by Douglas Smith
Best Poem/Song – English
- “A sea monster tells his story,” by David Clink
- “The Ghosts of Birds,” by Helen Marshall
- “Hold Fast,” by Leah Bobet
- “Roc,” by Sandra Kasturi
- “Zombie Descartes Writes a Personal Ad,” by Carolyn Clink
Best Graphic Novel – English
- Goblins, by Tarol Hunt
- Looking for Group, by Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza
- Raygun Gothic, by GMB Chomichuk
- Weregeek, by Alina Pete
- West of Bathurst, by Kari Maaren
Best Related Work – English
- Shanghai Steam, edited by Ace Jordyn, Calvin D. Jim, and Renée
Bennett
- Imaginarium 2012: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing, edited by Sandra Kasturi and Halli Villegas
- Hair Side, Flesh Side, by Helen Marshall
- Blood and Water, edited by Hayden Trenholm
- On Spec, published by the Copper Pig Writers’ Society
Best Artist
- Richard Bartrop, illustrations for fiction on Reality Skimming blog
- GMB Chomichuk, Raygun Gothic
- Costi Gurgu, cover art for Inner Diverse
- Michelle Milburn, cover art for Gathering Storm and Healer’s Sword
- Erik Mohr, cover art for ChiZine Publications
Best Fan Publication
- BCSFAzine, edited by Felicity Walker
- Broken Toys, edited by Taral Wayne
- In Places Between: The Robyn Herrington Short Story Contest, edited by Renée Bennett
- Reality Skimming blog, content coordinator Michelle Carraway
- Space Cadet, edited by R. Graeme Cameron
- Speculating Canada blog, edited by Derek Newman-Stille
Best Fan Filk
- Morva Bowman and Alan Pollard, Concert at FilKONtario 22
- Debs & Errol(Deborah Linden and Errol Elumir), Songs in the Key of Geek CD
- Brooke Lunderville, International Guest of Honour Concert at Consonance
- Kari Maaren, Body of Work
- Peggi Warner-Lalonde, Concert at NEFilk 22 ConCertino 2012
Best Fan Organizational
- Andrew Gurudata, Organizing the Constellation Awards, Toronto
- Evelyn Baker, Amy De Ruyte, and Peter Halasz, Executive Committee of WFC Toronto, 2012
- Sandra Kasturi, Helen Marshall, and, James Bambury, Co-Chairs, Chiaroscuro Reading Series, Toronto
- Sandra Kasturi and Laura Marshall. Co-Chairs, Toronto SpecFic Colloquium: Beyond the Human
- Randy McCharles, Chair and Programming, When Words Collide, Calgary
Best Fan Related Work
- Ron Friedman, conception and delivery of the Aurora Awards voter package
- Helen Marshall, “The Book is Dead; Long Live the Book!”: Some Thoughts on the Coming of eBooks, lecture at Toronto SpecFic Colloquium
- Michael Matheson, compilation and maintenance of the Can Spec Fic List
- Lloyd Penney, for fanwriting and letter and article writing for fanzines and e-fanzines
- Peter Watts, “Hive Minds, Mind Hives” lecture at Toronto SpecFic Colloquium
For more information…
Robert J. Sawyer has been named a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. The Medal was established to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession. Recipients must have been alive on the Queen’s jubilee date, be a Canadian citizen, and have made a significant contribution to a particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or an achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.
For more information…
The winner of the inaugural A.E. van Vogt Award has been announced. Brian J. Clarke will receive the Can$1200 prize and certificate for his novel Alphanauts. The award is sponsored by the Winnipeg Science Fiction Association and is presented for first-edition full length science fiction novel or full-length science fiction short story anthology, written by an author linked to Western Canada by birth or residency. The van Vogt Awards expect to launch a website for the award in the near future.
The finalists for the A.E. van Vogt Award, sponsored by the Winnipeg Science Fiction Association (WINSFA), ConAdian, the 1994 World SF Con, and Science Fiction Winnipeg (SFW) have been announced. The winner will receive a $1200 prize and a certificate. The award was named in honor of Canadian author and Grand Master A.E. van Vogt, who was born in 1912. Originally, the winners were slated to be announced in Winnipeg in September.
- Lady of Mazes, by Karl Schroeder
- Alphanauts, by Brian J. Clarke
- The Other, by Matthew Hughes
The 2012 Sunburst Award winners have been announced. The Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is a juried award given to a Canadian writer for a book length work of SF. The prize comes with a hand-crafted medallion and Can$1,000.
- Sunburst Award: Paradise Tales, by Geoff Ryman
- Sunburst Young Adult Award: All Good Children, by Catherine Austen
For more information…
Jo Walton and Lesley Livingstone have received the first Copper Cylinder Awards from the Sunburst Award Society. The Copper Cylinder Award is a member’s choice award selected by members of the Sunburst Award Society for books published during the previous year. The title comes from the first Canadian speculative fiction story, “A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder,” by James De Mille and the prize includes a trophy shaped like a copper cylinder.
- Copper Cylinder Adult Award: Among Others, by Jo Walton
- Copper Cylinder Young Adult Award: Once Every Never, by Lesley Livingstone
For more information…
CANSMOF has announced that Danielle MacDonald (Ontario, Canada) and James Shields (County Meath, Ireland) are the receipients of this year’s SMOFCon scholarships. Both recipients will receive aid to attend this year’s SMOFCon in Philadelphia, PA and are required to write a report about the event for CANSMOF.
For more information…
ChiZine Publications has announced a new imprint focusing on Young Adult fiction. ChiTeen will launch in the Spring of 2014 with The Unlikely But Totally True Adventures of Floating Boy and Anxiety Girl, by Paul Tremblay and Stephen Graham Jones. ChiTeen will offer the same dark and weird stories as the works ChiZine has previously published, but with subject matter more suited for a younger audience.
For more information…
A group of fans have announced that they will bid to host the Worldcon in 2017 in Montreal, Canada. Japan has already announced a bid for that year. The last Japanese Worldcon was Nippon in 2007. The last Montreal Worldcon was Anticipation in 2009.
