So.

This happened:

Best Novel – English
Destiny’s Fall by Marie Bilodeau, Dragon Moon Press
Food for the Gods by Karen Dudley, Ravenstone Books
Healer’s Sword: Part 7 of the Okal Rel Saga by Lynda Williams, EDGE
The Silvered by Tanya Huff, DAW Books, Inc.
Thunder Road by Chadwick Ginther, Ravenstone Books
Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer, Penguin Canada

I received a very welcome phone call a while back to let me know the news. It was a very welcome surprise. And I am in absolutely excellent company in the Best Novel category, and in excellent company in general. Congratulations to all my fellow nominees! I’m privileged to know a great many of you, and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone else.

Voting begins May 6th and remains open until Noon, PDT September 13th. The awards will be presented at Can-Con in Ottawa October 4-6.

Thank you to everyone who nominated Thunder Road, and thank you to everyone who nominated, period. The Auroras have a long history and none of it would be possible without the fans.

Here’s the nominees in all other categories:

Best YA Novel – English
Above by Leah Bobet, Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic
The Calling by Kelley Armstrong, Harper Teen
Dissolve by Neil Godbout, Bundoran Press
Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero by Michell Plested, Five Rivers
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow, TOR Teen
Under My Skin: Wildlings Series (Book 1) by Charles de Lint, Razorbill Canada

Best Short Fiction – English

“Delta Pi” by Matt Moore, Torn Realities, Post Mortem Press
“Happily Ever After” by Marie Bilodeau, When the Villain Comes Home, Dragon Moon Press
“Knights Exemplar” by Al Onia, On Spec #90, Fall
“Synch Me, Kiss Me, Drop” by Suzanne Church, Clarkesworld, Issue #68, May
“The Walker of the Shifting Borderland” by Douglas Smith, On Spec #90, Fall

Best Poem/Song – English
“A sea monster tells his story” by David Clink, The Literary Review of Canada, July/August
“The Ghosts of Birds” by Helen Marshall, Phantom Drift 2: Valuable Estrangements, Wordcraft of Oregon
“Hold Fast” by Leah Bobet, Strange Horizons, June 11, 2012
“Roc” by Sandra Kasturi, Come Late to the Love of Birds, Tightrope Books
“Zombie Descartes Writes a Personal Ad” by Carolyn Clink, Tesseracts Sixteen, EDGE

Best Graphic Novel – English
Goblins by Tarol Hunt, webcomic
Looking for Group by Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza, webcomic
Raygun Gothic by GMB Chomichuk, Alchemical Press
Weregeek by Alina Pete, webcomic
West of Bathurst by Kari Maaren, webcomic

Best Related Work – English
Shanghai Steam edited by Ace Jordyn, Calvin D. Jim, and Renée Bennett, EDGE
Imaginarium 2012: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing edited by Sandra Kasturi and Halli Villegas, ChiZine Publications
Hair Side, Flesh Side byHelen Marshall, ChiZine Publications
Blood and Water edited by Hayden Trenholm, Bundoran Press
On Spec published by the Copper Pig Writers’ Society

Best Artist
Richard Bartrop, illustrations for fiction on Reality Skimming blog
GMB Chomichuk, Raygun Gothic, Alchemical Press
Costi Gurgu, cover art for Inner Diverse, (Starfire World Syndicate)
Michelle Milburn, cover art for Gathering Storm and Healer’s Sword, (EDGE)
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 the 2012 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

Good luck, everyone!

Write on!