It’s award season, and we are thrilled to share that three pieces that Deadset Press published in 2023 are finalists in the Aurealis Awards!

The Aurealis Awards are an institution in the Australian horror, fantasy and sci-fi writing communities, and are not only one of the few awards that focus on Australian authors, but are also judged by panels instead of by popular vote. This gives the Aurealis Awards a special place in the Australian literary world, and is always one of the highlights of the year.

Congratulations, firstly, to Madeleine D’Este and RADCLIFFE, which is a finalist in the ‘Best Horror Novella’ category. Radcliffe stood out to us from the start: A gothic tale set in Melbourne’s inner summer during a heatwave. A middle-aged woman who heard a disembodied voice saying ‘Death is Coming’. The beautiful, dark, and intoxicating writing of Madeliene D’Este. Needless to say that we are thrilled to see it as a finalist, and that the judging panel also appreciated this spooky and wonderous tale.

Mikhaeyla Kopievsky’s SEA MIST SHORE WITCH is a finalist in the ‘Best Fantasy Short Story’ category. Kopievsky’s piece was published in the ‘Where the Wild Things Are Volume 2’ anthology, which focuses on freaky and fantastic tales set in real places across Australia and New Zealand. Sea Mist Shore Witch is indeed fantastic, a dark and enchanting tale of a girl who has lost much, petitioning for the Shore Witch to return what she misses the most. Her sister. We are delighted that it is a finalist, at it is one of the standout pieces of the Where The Weird Things Are series.

FOLLOW THE WATER by J. Palmer was also published in Where The Weird Things Are Volume 2 and tells the tale of two teens on trek to seek safety and find a new home in a post-apocalyptic Western Australia. Follow the Water is a finalist in the ‘Best Young Adult Short Story’ category which is very exciting, as it is J. Palmer’s first published story! As a publisher who has set out to provide publishing opportunities for new and upcoming Australian authors, we are so excited that this piece has been shortlisted, and that the Aurealis judges appreciate this extraordinary debut!

As an independent publisher, it honestly means so much to us that the stories we published are considered of similar merit as stories published by Allen & Unwin, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, HarperVayager etc. For us, getting a piece shortlisted is an incredible result – as far as we’re concerned we’re all winners already.

The Aurealis Award ceremony is this Saturday, and we wish everyone involved all the best for the night!