ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND SHE GOES...

It's awards season in Australian science fiction, with three national awards announcing their short-lists, and at times it's enough to make your head spin as some titles crack a mention in all three, some names are conspicuous by their absence, and the clattering of d20s as judges try to make their minds up is enough to make the nerdgods brush crisp crumbs from their Devo tour t-shirts and take notice.

I'm extremely happy to announce that The Corpse-Rat King made a couple of saving roles and has been short-listed in two out of the three awards. No luck in this year's Aurealis Awards, where it hasn't made the Fantasy or Horror lists, but it has cracked a mention in the following:

• The Ditmars are the Australian equivalent of the Hugos, voted on by members of each year's National convention, this year being held in Canberra, scene of my favourite convention experience (outside of the one at which Luscious married me), waaaaaay back in 2006. The Corpse-Rat King has been nominated in the Best Novel category, along with works by fellow Angry Robot stablemate Jo Anderton, Kate Forsyth, Kirstyn McDermott, Jason Nahrung, and Margo Lanagan. I've not won a general Ditmar before-- I was awarded the Best New Talent award 10fuckingyearsagoholyshit! earlier in my career, but it'd be nice to add an 'open' award to the small shrine to my genius I keep behind the garden shed.

You can check out the full list of nominees in all categories here.

• The Australian Shadows Awards, known to everybody except everyone who isn't me as the 'Dead Chicks' because, well... you figure it out:

Once again, I share the Best Novel category with Kirstyn McDermott and Jason Nahrung. I'm on a mission to win my third award, which would add a nice symmetry to my brag shelf, so let's hope all fans of numerology can bring their influence to bear.

The Shadows have expanded significantly in scope since their inception, and now cover a whole bunch of categories. The full nomination list is here.