The Australian Shadows Award for 2008 is now open for submissions!

The Australian Shadows is an annual award presented by the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) and judged on the overall effect - the skill, delivery, and lasting resonance - of a work of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian and published either in Australia or overseas. The people involved in running the award for 2008 are:

Guest Judge: Sarah Endacott

Judging Panel: Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Brett McBean, Chuck McKenzie

Director: Kirstyn McDermott

Eligibility is simple. All entries must be works of fiction first published either in print or electronically within the calendar year and the author/editor must be an Australian citizen or Australian resident . Please note that, while a collection or anthology which contains reprints may be submitted as a work in its own right, none of the reprinted stories within will be eligible for individual consideration.

The recipient of the 2008 Award will be chosen from works originally published between 1st January and 31st December 2008. Submissions for the 2008 Award will only be accepted from 1st April to 31st December 2008.

The story/novel/collection/anthology must have horror content either as a focal point or an integral element of the work. Dark Fiction will also be accepted.

There are no submission or nomination forms to fill in. Anyone - including judges - may nominate a flash, short story, collection, novel, poem, anthology, etc, by passing on the details of the work to the Director, who will then contact the author or publisher and ensure review copies reach the judges.

Entries of less than 10,000 words may be emailed as attachments in electronic format (PDF preferred) to the Director who will then forward them to the Judging Panel. All electronically submitted entries must include the place and year of publication. Please contact the Director via email (kirstyn@sinpatiko.com) to obtain instructions for submitting hard copies of longer entries.

So if you write, publish or read an eligible work of fiction this year that you feel is worthy of consideration for the Australian Shadows Award, please let us know about it. For more information, visit the weblink below or send an email. We're all looking forward to seeing what the Australian horror & dark fiction community can come up with for 2008!

Best wishes,

Kirstyn McDermott Director - Australian Shadows Award

Email: kirstyn@sinpatiko.com Web: http://www.altair-australia.com) and presented by the Australian Horror Writers Association (http://www.australianhorror.com).