The Adelaide Fan Review

This month, we want to discuss two things:

(i) The 2026 Hugo Award for best novel:

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters – but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten. Centuries later, Owen Mallory – failed soldier, struggling scholar – falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives, and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs. But that story always ends the same way.

We invite people to read the novel for more discussion.

and (ii) what is your favourite adaptation of a story to another medium?

The October 21st meeting is at 6:30 at the Minor Works Building
(entry via path between 50 and 52 Sturt Street)

Critical Mass Oct 21, 2026 6:30pm Adelaide, 7pm Melbourne
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82461705043?pwd=uqQARwIKgXsqifdPsgLV1oIabFipJV.1

“I think you can’t write the same book twice, and quite often, with the series demand, that is sort of what’s being asked of you: ‘Do it again, and make it the same, but different, and it needs to be just as good, and it needs to both say something new and not completely break everything that came before it.’ This is an impossible request. How does anyone do this?

“Some stories are simply too large to be contained within the spine of a commercially publishable book. I understand that you could not write, say, A Song of Ice and Fire in a single book. But A Game of Thrones, as a single standalone book, is one of my favorite fantasy books of all time, and I don’t feel that way about the series. There’s no reason why a single book should have to be a complete unit, in and of itself, except that I find it personally satisfy­ing. And, obviously, my personal aesthetic tastes are what matter.

“I can clearly see the connections between the dif­ferent things I do. It looks like I’m swerving wildly all over the genre shop, but all of them make perfect sense. Everything I write is exactly what I needed to write next. The Incandescent does, to me, follow neatly from Some Desperate Glory in that it is also a book about teenagers, about being a person who is an adult interacting with teenagers, interacting with your own teenage self, and their stupid mistakes that you are now stuck with forever.

— Emily Tesh, full interview at https://locusmag.com/feature/emily-tesh-breaking-free

Our guest in September is Alexandra Pierce, editor, publisher and reviewer of Speculative fiction.

Since launching in 2024, Speculative Insight has been publishing essays that interrogate science fiction and fantasy from a place of both love and rigour: think of it as the love child of a fanzine and an academic journal. Alexandra Pierce is the editor and publisher.

Her previous experience included co-editing two award-winning anthologies, Letters to Tiptree and Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler, and hosting the Hugo Award-winning podcast Galactic Suburbia. She used to be a history teacher, and these days splits her time between SFF (including the journal, and reviewing for Locus), and doing history. 

We suggest people read some of the recent essays (half are free on the website) if you haven’t yet done so.

Critical Mass will meet at the Minor Works Building at 6:30pm September 16th
Entry via Sturt Street — there is a pathway between 50 and 52 Sturt Street.

Or you can join us via zoom.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82461705043?pwd=uqQARwIKgXsqifdPsgLV1oIabFipJV.1

Meeting ID: 824 6170 5043
Passcode: 208178

Locus reports:

LAcon V has announced that Aussiecon 5 and the Brisbane in 2028 bid won the right to host the 2028 Worldcon. The 86th World Science Fiction Convention will be held July 27-31, 2028 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre in Brisbane, Australia.

Guests of honor announced so far include Claire G. Coleman, David Gaider, Kathleen Jennings, Seanan McGuire, Perry Middlemiss, and Jonathan Strahan.

According to File 770, Brisbane bid received 610 out of 682 votes cast. There was no opposing bid, as the Nuremberg in 2028 group withdrew earlier in the year.

For more, or to purchase you membership before rates rise, see the Worldcon in Brisbane 2028 website.

Time to have a look at local writers.

(I) Please review the 2026 Ditmar Nominees. We will start the discussion by discussing the nominees and winners.

(II) Is there a work (novel, story, series) by an Australian resident you would like to recommend?

(III) Kate will report on the Melbourne Rare Book fair

Critical Mass will meet at the Minor Works Building at 6:30pm August 19th

We meet at 6:30pm at the Minor Works Building
Entry via Sturt Street — there is a pathway between 50 and 52 Sturt Street.

Join via zoom:

Roman Orszanski is inviting you to a Critical Mass Zoom meeting.

Topic: Critical Mass
Time: Aug 19, 2026 6:30pm Adelaide, 7pm Sydney
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82461705043?pwd=uqQARwIKgXsqifdPsgLV1oIabFipJV.1

---

The Ditmar awards are a fan voted award for works of SF by Australian residents. The award candidates were nominated by members of the Continuum, Conflux or Swancon conventions from 2022-2026. Congratulations to the winners and nominees.

Best New Talent

Winner Jeff Clulow
Nominees
KA Burgess, Fionn MacPherson, Scott Steensma, Greg Foyster
Meg Wright / Red Wallflower, Emmi Khor, Adam Richard, Roanne Lau

Short Story

Winner ‘Bitter Skin’, Kaaron Warren (Night and Day, Saga)
Nominees
‘A Shortcut via the New Tunnel, M-ate’, CH Pearce, (Never Say Die, CSFG)
‘Phantom Loop’, S L Johnson [with Gio Clairval] (Tales from the Crosstimbers, Crosstimbers Publications LLC)
‘Scorpion Girl’, Janeen Webb (Scorpion Girl, PS Publishing)
‘The Girlfriend Experience’, CZ Tacks (Lightspeed Magazine)
‘Through These Moments, Darkly’, Samantha Murray, (Clarkesworld)

Novella/Novelette

Winner ‘The Hidden God’, Tim Napper (Asimov’s March/April)
Nominees
‘Cinder House’, Freya Marske
‘The Cold House’, AG Slatter
‘A Second Coming’, Janeen Webb
‘Drowning in the Dark’, Matt Tighe

Novel

Winner. Honeyeater, Kathleen Jennings (Pan Macmillan)
Nominees
The Crimson Road, AG Slatter (Titan Books)
Veil, Jeff Clulow, (Third Eye Press)
Upon a Starlit Tide, Kell Woods (Harper Collins)
When Dark Waters Burn, Zena Shapter (Midnight Sun Publishing)

Collected Work

Winner This Dark Architect and Other Grim Tales, Pamela Jeffs (Four Ink Press)

Nominees
Drowning in the Dark and Other Stories, Matt Tighe (IFWG)
Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe, Matthew R Davis (JournalStone)
The Leper’s Garden and Other Contagions, Jeff Clulow (Third Eye Press)
Scorpion Girl and Other Stories, Janeen Webb (PS Publishing)

Professional Artwork

Winner Honeyeater internal art, Kathleen Jennings

Nominees
Never Say Die cover, Maddison Lee
The Ship’s Big Steaming Log: the Book of Bladderwrack, Adam Browne
Rebels & Rainbows cover, C.H. Pearce

Fan Art

Winner Brave New Wardrobe, Conflux 19 art show, Kaaron Warren
Nominees
Gideon the Ninth fan art, Annalise Jensen
Instagram art, Elise Miller

FaN Writer

Winner Ian Mond reviews, Substack

Nominees
Leigh Edmonds, Ornithopter
Jan MacNally reviews, Ethel the Aardvark fanzine (MSFC)
Rob Masters, writings on aus.social
Claire Fitzpatrick, ‘Frankenstein in Pop-Culture’ (Aurealis)

Fan Publication

Winner Aurealis Awards: Behind the Curtain podcast, Alexandra Pierce

Nominees
Prose podcast, A.D. Ellicott and C.Z. Tacks
Recent Reads book reviews blog, Leanbh Pearson
The Narratives Library, Karena Wynn-Moylan
Terry Talks Movies, Youtube, Terry Frost

The William Atheling Jr Award

Winner Story Thinking and the Real-world Applications of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writing by Helen Marshall, Kim Wilkins & Lisa Bennett

Nominees
Eugen Bacon, ‘Spec Fic and the Politics of Identity: Finding the Self in Other’, Strange Horizons
Ian Mond for review in Locus
‘The Horror of Australian Literary Censorship’, Louise Zedda Sampson, in Midnight Echo #20
‘When ‘EAT THE RICH’ Is Not Enough: Horror Meets Late-Stage Capitalism’, Kirstyn McDermott, Ruadán Books
‘Almost a Witch’, Freyja Stokes, Speculative Insight
Stephen Herczeg, ‘The Lost World: its influence on modern science fiction’, Steel True Blade Straight 2025/26, Belanger Books
Stephen Herczeg, ‘August Derleth and the rise of the Cthulhu Mythos’, The Pontine Dossier Millenium Edition 2025, Belanger Books
Russell Blackford, ‘Mass Appeal: Stephen Dedman’s Genre Alchemy’, Science Fiction: A Review of Speculative Literature, issue 57
Russell Blackford, ‘Remembering Damien Broderick: A starlit mind in the cosmos of ideas’, SF Commentary 120

The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of J.G. Ballard, Christopher Priest & Nina Allan (Bloomsbury Continuum, 978-1399417495, £25.00, 496pp, hc) April 2026.

Read the full review by Gary K Wolfe at Locus Magazine

We invite members to review the Hugo nominees for Novel, Novella or Novellette.

Best Novel

• A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape)
• Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow; Gollancz)
• Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK; Orbit US)
• The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (Tor US; Tor UK)
• The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (Tor US; Orbit UK)
• The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson (Orbit US; Hodderscape)

1,153 ballots cast for 555 nominees. Finalists range 126-210.

Best Novella

• Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (Tordotcom)
• Cinder House by Freya Marske (Tordotcom; Tor UK)
• Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Tordotcom)
• The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia UK)
• The Summer War by Naomi Novik (Del Rey US; Del Rey UK)
• What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher (Nightfire; Titan UK)

807 ballots cast for 172 nominees. Finalists range 90-241.

Best Novelette

• “Kaiju Agonistes” by Scott Lynch (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 62)
• “Never Eaten Vegetables” by H.H. Pak (Clarkesworld, Issue 220)
• “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” by Martha Wells (Reactor, July 10, 2025)
• “The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed (Reactor, April 2, 2025)
• “The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 67)
• “When He Calls Your Name” by Catherynne M. Valente (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 65)

414 ballots cast for 144 nominees. Finalists range 36-64

The other nominees can be seen at https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2026-hugo-awards/

Tell us about which should be the winner — or inform us about another work which was missed out!

We meet at 6:30pm at the Minor Works Building

Entry via Sturt Street — there is a pathway between 50 and 52 Sturt Street.

Join via zoom:

Roman Orszanski is inviting you to a Critical Mass Zoom meeting.

Topic: Critical Mass
Time: Jul 15, 2026 6:30 PM Adelaide

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82461705043?pwd=uqQARwIKgXsqifdPsgLV1oIabFipJV.1

Best Novel

• A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape)
• Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow; Gollancz)
• Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK; Orbit US)
• The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (Tor US; Tor UK)
• The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (Tor US; Orbit UK)
• The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson (Orbit US; Hodderscape)

1,153 ballots cast for 555 nominees. Finalists range 126-210.

Best Novella

• Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (Tordotcom)
• Cinder House by Freya Marske (Tordotcom; Tor UK)
• Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Tordotcom)
• The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia UK)
• The Summer War by Naomi Novik (Del Rey US; Del Rey UK)
• What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher (Nightfire; Titan UK)

807 ballots cast for 172 nominees. Finalists range 90-241.

Best Novelette

• “Kaiju Agonistes” by Scott Lynch (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 62)
• “Never Eaten Vegetables” by H.H. Pak (Clarkesworld, Issue 220)
• “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” by Martha Wells (Reactor, July 10, 2025)
• “The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed (Reactor, April 2, 2025)
• “The Millay Illusion” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 67)
• “When He Calls Your Name” by Catherynne M. Valente (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 65)

414 ballots cast for 144 nominees. Finalists range 36-64

The other nominees can be seen at https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2026-hugo-awards/