The Adelaide Fan Review

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

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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/

Murray MacLachlan writes

Our speaker for Wednesday 1 July is Kate Treloar, renowned Adelaide bookseller, joining us by Zoom from Adelaide to discuss Curation in an Age of Overwhelm. There’s an art – and a craft – to selecting the right books.

And really, life’s too short to have books you don’t want, surely?

Part of the Mob will be gathering at Kensington Town Hall for the face-to-face. The full Zoom option is open to all as usual.

Pre-Mob dining this month is again at Hardiman’s Hotel in Kensington.

Two months are now available for speakers, in August and September. Please claim a month! October and November have speakers already; also February next year. see https://novamob.blog/

The novamob web site is up to date.

💥💥💥

Kate Treloar —  Curation in an Age of Overwhelm

the Art and Craft of the Right Stuff

Nova Mob — Wednesday 1 July 2026

Kate Treloar, renowned Adelaide bookseller and Critical Mass member, will speak to the Nova Mob on curation in an Age of Overwhelm. Kate will talk about making good selections in what we read, from a reader and bookseller perspective, and how this is changing. What is involved in meaningful selection? And what does it mean, specifically, in SF? With a nod to Michael Bhaskar’s Curation: the Power of Selection in a World of Excess, this is an exploration of The Right Stuff.

Topics may well include:

– how you choose what to read/watch/download/listen to
– how this compares to decades past
– whose recommendations you trust
– is more choice a good thing.

This talk is based on one made to Critical Mass a couple of years ago and Kate says this month’s talk is a rich update. The topic has me musing on the highly curated bookshelf. You are on a desert island, and your bookshelf fits ten books only… I’ve been seeking this presentation to the Nova Mob for quite some time and am delighted Kate now is available amid her busy schedule. If you’ve ever gone into a bookshop with a pencil and notebook in your hands, then this event is for you.

Kate Treloar is a co-owner of Orchard Books, just off Rundle Mall in Adelaide, a clean and welcoming bookshop that describes itself as “all killer, no filler!” In this talk, she will explain how.

💥💥💥

Kate Treloar — Curation in an Age of Overwhelm

(simulcast) — by Zoom, and also a face-to-face meet-up at the Kensington Town Hall, Melbourne

8.00pm – 9.30pm AEST

Presentation Room, Kensington Town Hall
30 – 34 Bellair St, Kensington VIC 3031

Zoom link (unchanged, this link applies to all Mob meetings):

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4177583193?pwd=VjdPL1BhSTBNclN2YnRsejN3Y1hlUT09

Passcode: nova

Meeting ID 417 758 3193

💥💥💥

Pre-Mob Dining — Hardiman’s Hotel

Hardiman’s Hotel, 521 Macaulay Rd, Kensington VIC 3031

Table booked under Nova Mob / Murray, 6.15pm for 6.30 to 8.00pm.

Hardiman’s is a short walk up the hill from Kensington Railway Station, where Bellair St meets Macaulay Rd. The menu is perhaps slightly more limited than the Doutta Galla but the quality is higher. The range of bheer is wider and significantly worth exploring.

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Nova Mob About and Contact Us

nova@aussiebb.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ed41QjTdk/

Friends, out-of-town guests, and new arrivals are always welcome at our face-to-face and Zoom meetings.

First visit free; otherwise a $5 donation for venue costs is appreciated. PayPal to nataliem4965@gmail.com (tag “Nova Mob”).

Venue info: https://activemelbourne.ymca.org.au/venues/kensington-town-hall

Parking and disability access are excellent. Newmarket Station is 15 min from Flinders St on the Craigieburn line.

Please don’t attend if unwell. Do forward this newsletter to friends with shared interests.

To unsubscribe, email “unsubscribe” to nova@aussiebb.com.au.

Murray MacLachlan

Convener

discussing science fiction and fantasy as a cultural form since 1970.

As usual, we meet from 6:30 at the Minor Works Building, 22 Stamford Court, Adelaide
[There’s a pathway between 50 and 52 Sturt St]

For this month’s meeting, we ask you to come along to talk about a novel or novella
you’ve recently read and enjoyed*.
Tell us why it’s interesting, and what you enjoyed about the work or author.

[*it need not be a new work, you might be re-reading an old favourite,
or you have discovered something from previous years]

Critical Mass via zoom
Time: Jun 17, 2026 6:30pm – 8pm Adelaide time; 7-8:30 Sydney time

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

Meeting ID: 824 6170 5043
Passcode: 208178

Here are some of the nominees for the 2026 Hugo awards.

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 full list of nominees in each category is at Hugo Award finalists