Shiny, shiny awards suitable for hand to hand combat

Brain (Lisa L Hannett) and I arrived in Sydney on Friday and promptly indulged in our major vice: ordering room service. We talked until late, then woke up to more room service (What??)

Then we went for a walk on Saturday morning and wandered through the Pitt St mall and then the QVB , where we saw this awesome clock. Then we found Florentine, where the lovely, lovely lady who owns it told us her tales of travelling Europe in the 50s and sold us some of the most BEAUTIFUL paper products we’ve ever seen. We were there for an hour and a half. Was awesome.

Next, a walk to Circular Quay, and then back to the hotel for a late lunch, a nap – that became a brain-storming session for Midnight and Moonshine – and then the primping began, all the in hope that all our make-up and hair straighening would not be wasted by the inconvenience of any kind of Rapture. Success!

Onwards to the Independent Theatre at North Syndey (a really nice venue), where we caught up with old friends, made new ones and started on the talkfest that saw us both just about hoarse by the end of the eve. The ceremony began, and I was feeling so thoroughly safe that I would not have to accept any awards that I kicked my high heels off and sat relaxed quite happily … until my name got called for Best Collection for The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales (Ticonderoga Publications). I think I may be the first person to accept an AA with naked feet. I said some stuff … I think it was okay … my brain was kind of fritzed by that point.

By the time they announced the Best Fantasy Short Story, which Lisa and I shared with the lovely and very sweet Thoraiya Dyer, I hadn’t managed to put my shoes back on … essentially “Still barefoot, still grateful.”

One of the best things about the night was winning an award with Lisa – we love our February Dragon and are eternally grateful that Liz Grzyb took it at the last minute (and caused a lot of snoopy dancing). The awards are delightful and heavy and large and I was a bit concerned that I might get stopped at the airport because they looked like chunks of plastic explosive in the x-ray machine.

Congrats to all the nominees and all the winners, and thanks to all the judges – it is a HUGE job – and well done to SpecFaction NSW for taking up the Fantastic Queensland reins and doing such a fabulous job of their first AA!

It was lovely to meet folk like Talie Helene and Ion Newcombe, and to catch up with the likes of Jason Fischer, Cat Sparks, Angie Rega, Al Baxter, the Nahrung-McDermott Power Conglomeration, Kate Eltham and Rob Hoge, and so many more!

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel for the traditional post-AA room service feast, viola.

Peter McNamara Convenors’ Award: Helen Merrick
Best Science Fiction Novel: Transformation Space, Marianne de Pierres
Best Science Fiction Short Story: “The Heart of a Mouse”, K.J. Bishop
Best Fantasy Novel: Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts
Best Fantasy Short Story: “The February Dragon”, Lisa L Hannett & Angela Slatter (joint winners) “Yowie”, Thoraiya Dyer
Best Horror Novel: Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott
Best Horror Short Story: “The Fear”, Richard Harland
Best Anthology: Wings of Fire, Edited by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S Jablon
Best Collection: The Girl With No Hands and other tales, Angela Slatter
Best Illustrated Book / Graphic Novel: Changing Ways: Book 1, Justin Randall
Best Young Adult Novel: Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey
Best Young Adult Short Story: “A Thousand Flowers”, Margo Lanagan
Best Children’s Fiction(told primarily through pictures): The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (writer) & Lucia Masciullo (illustrator)
Best Children’s Fiction (told primarily through words): The Keepers, Lian Tanner
Kris Hembury Encouragement Award: Jodi Cleghorn

The full list of nominees is here.

And this morning, there was French Toast with bacon and much coffee, then a quick trip to the airport and I got checked in and through Security in under five minutes – nothing short of a miracle!

Huzzah!

And that is all.

Now, I’m sure I have a pair of shoes around here somewhere.