Expressions of interest are currently being sought from individuals interested in serving as a judge for the 2010 Aurealis Awards.

Who can be a judge?

Judges are volunteers and are drawn from the speculative fiction community. Judges typically come from diverse professions and backgrounds and may include academics, booksellers, librarians, published authors, editors, publishers and other industry professionals, reviewers, critics and enthusiasts. The only qualification required is a demonstrated knowledge of and interest in the chosen judging category applied for.

Judging Panels

There are seven award categories and nine judging panels - with two panels for both Science Fiction and Fantasy. This acknowledges the large number of novel and short story submissions in these two categories. Each judging panel has at least three judges who choose the best eligible works entered each year.

The nine judging panels are:

1. Science fiction (short story)
2. Science Fiction (novel)
3. Fantasy (short story)
4. Fantasy (novel)
5. Horror
6. Young Adult
7. Children's
8. Anthology and Collection
9. Illustrated Book or Graphic Novel

The judging period

Judges will be required to read all entries for works published from 1 November 2009 up to and including 31 December 2010. Shortlists of finalists and winners will be decided by judging panels in the period from January to the end of March or early April 2011. The Awards ceremony will be held in April/May 2011 in Sydney.

Duties of a judge

Being an Aurealis Awards judge involves reading entries in a single category, which may comprise several dozen novels and/or more than a hundred short stories in the process of evaluating the year's entries. Judges may keep their reading copies of entries.

From 2009, the Aurealis Awards have accepted some short fiction (up to ten thousand words) electronically. Judges of short fiction must be willing to accept and read some entries in this format.

It is vital that judges be able to work as part of a team and meet stringent deadlines. Most of the judges' discussions are conducted via an online forum or email.

All discussions are confidential between the judges in each panel and the Aurealis Awards management team, as required.

If you've been a judge before

Judges from previous Aurealis Awards processes are welcome - indeed encouraged - to re-apply. But, in the interests of transparency and impartiality, no-one may judge the same category for more than two consecutive years, and a break of two consecutive years is required before a judge can reapply to be a judge in that particular category again.

How are judges selected?

Judges are selected by the Aurealis Awards management team following a public application process; any member of the public may apply. The management team reserves the right to select judges from the pool of applicants, and may seek additional judges should it be deemed necessary following the closure of the public application process. No correspondence will be entered into.

Conflict of interest

A novel or short story written by a judge is automatically ineligible to be entered for an award in that year in the category for which the person is a judge. Work is still eligible to be entered in other categories.

This ineligibility applies only to works written by the person involved. For example, if the editor of an anthology or magazine is a judge, stories in the anthology or magazine not written by him/her are still eligible, but anything written by him/her is not.

If the editor or co-editor of an anthology or collection is a judge in the anthology and collection category, then that anthology or collection edited or co-edited by him/her is ineligible.

How do I apply to be a judge?

If you are interested in judging the 2010 Aurealis Awards, send an email to Keith Stevenson, Judge Coordinator at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it stating your first and second preference for a judging category (e.g. 1. Science Fiction (novel), 2. Anthology and Collection) and include some brief information that demonstrates your knowledge of and interest in the chosen judging category applied for.

If you have any questions, please email Keith at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Keith Stevenson