The Australian Shadow Awards are presented by the Australian Horror Writers' Association to honor dark fiction, and the 2006 shortlists have now been released. Well, actually, they have been re-released. In their first incarnation, the awards listed Terry Dowling's story "The Bullet that Grows in the Gun". Unfortunately, this story was originally published in 1985 and hence should not have been eligible. This is only the second year of these awards so it is hoped that this is just a minor glitch, and that procedures will be put in place to ensure it doesn't happen again. The discrepancy has now been rectified and the shortlisted works are:
"Father Renoir's Hands" by Lee Battersby
"The Blow-Off" by Stephen Dedman
"The Dying Light" by Deborah Biancotti
The Pilo Family Circus by Will Elliott
"The Bridal Bier" by Carol Ryles
The winner of the award will be announced on March 25th.
