# Aurealis Award for Best Horror Novel

The Aurealis Awards are presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications and WASFF to published works in order to "recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy, horror writers". To qualify, a work must have been first published by an Australian citizen or permanent resident between 1 November of the prior year and 31 October of the corresponding year; the presentation ceremony is held the following year. It has grown from a small function of around 20 people to a two-day event attended by over 200 people.
Since their creation in 1995, awards have been given in various categories of speculative fiction. Categories currently include science fiction, fantasy, horror, speculative young adult fiction—with separate awards for novels and short fiction—collections, anthologies, illustrative works or graphic novels, children's books, and an award for excellence in speculative fiction. The awards have attracted the attention of publishers by setting down a benchmark in science fiction and fantasy. The continued sponsorship by publishers such as HarperCollins and Orbit has identified the award as an honour to be taken seriously.
The results are decided by a panel of judges from a list of submitted nominees; the long-list of nominees is reduced to a short-list of finalists. Ties can occur if the panel decides both entries show equal merit, however they are encouraged to choose a single winner. The judges may declare a "no award" if there is unanimous agreement that none of the nominees are worthy. The judges are selected from a public application process by the Award's management team.
This article lists all the short-list nominees and winners in the best horror novel category, as well as novels that have received honourable mentions or have been highly commended. Since 2005, honourable mentions and high commendations have been awarded intermittently. Kim Wilkins has won the award three times, while two people have won the award twice - Kirstyn McDermott and Kaaron Warren. Wilkins holds the record for most nominations, with five. Greig Beck, Stephen Dedman, and Jason Nahrung share the record for most nominations without winning, each having been nominated twice.

## Winners and nominees

In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the book's eligibility; the ceremonies are always held the following year. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature" article. Entries with a yellow background have won the award; those with a white background are the nominees on the short-list.
* Winners and joint winners  * Nominees on the shortlist
| Year | Author | Novel | Publisher |
| 1995 | Terry Dowling* | An Intimate Knowledge of the Night | Aphelion Publications |
| 1995 | Venero Armanno | My Beautiful Friend | Arrow Books |
| 1995 | Carmel Bird | The White Garden | UQP |
| 1995 | David Brooks | The House of Balthus | Allen & Unwin |
| 1995 | Justine Ettler | The River Ophelia | Picador |
| 1996 | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1997 | Kim Wilkins* | The Infernal | Random House |
| 1997 | Stephen Dedman | The Art of Arrow Cutting | Tor Books |
| 1997 | Richard Harland | The Dark Edge | Pan Macmillan |
| 1997 | Emma Tom | Dead Set | Random House |
| 1998 | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1999 | Christine Harris* | Foreign Devil | Random House |
| 1999 | Victor Kelleher | Into the Dark | Viking Press |
| 1999 | Victor Kelleher | The Ivory Trail | Viking Press |
| 1999 | P. Scot-Bernard | Deadly Sister Love | HarperCollins |
| 2000 | Kim Wilkins* | The Resurrectionists | Voyager Books |
| 2000 | Terry Dowling | Blackwater Days | Eidolon Publications |
| 2001 | Kim Wilkins* | Angel of Ruin | Voyager Books |
| 2001 | Cameron Rogers | The Music of Razors | Penguin Books |
| 2002 | A. L. McCann* | The White Body of Evening | Flamingo |
| 2002 | Alison Croggon | The Gift | Penguin Books |
| 2002 | Louise Cusack | Daughter of the Dark | Simon & Schuster |
| 2002 | Stephen Dedman | Shadows Bite | Tor Books |
| 2003 | Victor Kelleher* | Born of the Sea | Viking Press |
| 2003 | Anthony O'Neill | The Lamplighter | HarperCollins |
| 2003 | Kim Wilkins | The Autumn Castle | Voyager Books |
| 2004 | Richard Harland* | The Black Crusade | Chimaera Publications |
| 2004 | Josephine Pennicott | Fire in the Shell | Simon & Schuster |
| 2004 | Kim Wilkins | Giants of the Frost | Voyager Books |
| 2005 | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2006 | Will Elliott* | The Pilo Family Circus | ABC Books |
| 2006 | Edwina Grey* | Prismatic | Lothian Books |
| 2006 | Martin Livings | Carnies | Lothian Books |
| 2006 | Brett McBean | The Mother | Lothian Books |
| 2007 | Susan Parisi* | Blood of Dreams | Viking Press |
| 2007 | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| 2008 | John Harwood* | The Seance | Jonathan Cape |
| 2008 | Jack Dann | The Economy of Light | PS Publishing |
| 2008 | Nick Gadd | Ghostlines | Scribe Publications |
| 2009 | Honey Brown* | Red Queen | Penguin Books |
| 2009 | Peter Ball | Horn | Twelfth Planet Press |
| 2009 | Stephen M. Irwin | The Dead Path | Hachette |
| 2009 | Tracey O'Hara | Night's Cold Kiss | HarperCollins |
| 2009 | Kaaron Warren | Slights | Angry Robot Books |
| 2010 | Kirstyn McDermott* | Madigan Mine | Pan MacMillan |
| 2010 | Jason Fischer | After the World: Gravesend | Black House Comics |
| 2010 | Trent Jamieson | Death Most Definite | Orbit Books |
| 2011 | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2011 | Stephen M. Irwin | The Broken Ones | Hachette |
| 2011 | Trent Jamieson | The Business of Death | Hachette |
| 2012 | Kirstyn McDermott* | Perfections | Xoum |
| 2012 | Jason Franks | Bloody Waters | Possible Press |
| 2012 | Jason Nahrung | Blood and Dust | Xoum |
| 2012 | Jason Nahrung | Salvage | Twelfth Planet Press |
| 2013 | Allyse Near* | Fairytales for Wilde Girls | Random House Australia |
| 2013 | Lee Battersby | The Marching Dead | Angry Robot Books |
| 2013 | Greig Beck | The First Bird | Momentum |
| 2013 | Dirk Flinthart | Path Of Night | FableCroft Publishing |
| 2014 | Justine Larbalestier* | Razorhurst | Allen & Unwin |
| 2014 | Alan Baxter | Obsidian | HarperVoyager |
| 2014 | Greig Beck | Book of the Dead | Momentum |
| 2015 | Trent Jamieson* | Day Boy | Text Publishing |
| 2015 | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| 2016 | Kaaron Warren* | The Grief Hole | IFWG Publishing Australia |
| 2016 | Kenneth Cook | Fear is the Rider | Text Publishing |
| 2016 | Justine Larbalestier | My Sister Rosa | Allen & Unwin |
| 2017 | Lois Murphy* | Soon | Transit Lounge |
| 2017 | J. S. Breukelaar | Aletheia | Crystal Lake Publishing |
| 2017 | Maria Lewis | Who's Afraid Too? | Hachette Australia |
| 2018 | Kaaron Warren* | Tide of Stone | Omnium Gatherum |
| 2018 | Shirley Barrett | The Bus on Thursday | Allen & Unwin |
| 2018 | Criag Cormick | Years of the Wolf | IFWG Publishing Australia |
| 2019 | Andrew McGahan* | The Rich Man's House | Allen & Unwin |
| 2019 | Brian Craddock | Chuwa: The Rat-People of Lahore | Broken Puppet Books |
| 2019 | Andrew Cull | Remains | IFWG Publishing Australia |
| 2019 | Simon Haynes | A Riddle in Bronze | Bowman Press |
| 2019 | Deborah Sheldon | Body Farm Z | Severed Press |
| 2020 | Ellie Marney* | None Shall Sleep | Allen & Unwin |
| 2020 | Daniel de Lorne | Soul Survivor | Scarlo Media |
| 2020 | Simon Haynes | An Enigma in Silver | Bowman Press |
| 2020 | Claire McKenna | Monstrous Heart | HarperVoyager |
| 2020 | Marty Young | Gutterbreed | Eclectic Trio Press |
| 2021 | Ben Pienaar* | Holly and the Nobodies | HellBound Books Publishing |
| 2021 | Jennifer Mills | The Airways | Picador Australia |
| 2021 | J. S. Breukelaar | The Bridge | Meerkat Press |
| 2021 | Matthew R. Davis | Midnight in the Chapel of Love | JournalStone |
| 2021 | Jason Fischer | Papa Lucy & The Boneman | Outland Entertainment |
| 2022 | Trent Jamieson* | The Stone Road | Erewhon |
| 2022 | Alan Baxter | Sallow Bend | Cemetery Dance |
| 2022 | Robert Hood | Scavengers | Clan Destine Press |
| 2022 | Kathryn Hore | The Stranger | Allen & Unwin |
| 2022 | Angela Slatter | Path of Thorns | Titan |
| 2023 | S. E Tolsen* | Bunny | Pan Macmillan Australia |
| 2023 | Graham Akhurst | Borderland | UWA Publishing |
| 2023 | Deborah Sheldon | Cretaceous Canyon | Severed |
| 2023 | Maria Lewis | The Graveyard Shift | Datura Books |
| 2023 | Ellie Marney | Some Shall Break | Allen & Unwin |
| 2023 | Katya de Becerra | When Ghosts Call Us Home | Macmillan |
^ I Publisher names in parentheses indicate the imprint under which the book was published.

## Honourable mentions and high commendations

In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the book's eligibility; the ceremonies are always held the following year. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature" article. Entries with a grey background have been noted as highly commended; those with a white background have received honourable mentions.
* Highly commended  * Honourable mentions
| Year | Author(s) | Novel | Publisher |
| 2005 | J. C. Burke* | Nine Letters Long | Random House |
| 2007 | Keri Arthur | Dangerous Games | Piatkus |
| 2007 | David Conyers & John Sunseri | The Spiraling Worm | Chaosium |
| 2007 | Jason Nahrung | The Darkness Within | Hachette Livre |
| 2011 | Stephen M. Irwin | The Broken Ones | Hachette |
| 2011 | Trent Jamieson | The Business of Death | Hachette |