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32-583: The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction , fantasy and horror fiction . Only Australians are eligible for the award. The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by Chimaera Publications , the publishers of Aurealis Magazine . Unlike the other major Australian speculative fiction award, the Ditmar Award , it divides work into subgenre and age categories, and

64-458: A barometer of bourgeois bad taste." He says juries can be influenced by vendettas, paybacks and payoffs, "most judges are fair-minded people. But hate, conceit and jealousy are no less human attributes than wisdom, judgment and knowledge." Book prizes will sometimes compete with one another, and these goals do not always coincide with anointing the best winner. Sometimes juries can not decide between two contentious books so they will compromise with

96-441: A beautiful interior and exterior place. Beauty is the essential core of ceremony, having always been part of "raising the spirit" and embedding the good in the memory. Ceremonies, as they always had been, are historically the bridge between the visual and performing arts and the people. Murphy and his followers, and international practitioners such as David Oldfield of Washington DC understand that ceremonies are core expressions of

128-617: A body of work that brings credit and/or attention to the speculative fiction genre in that year". The award was originally known as the Convenors' Award for Excellence and was renamed in 2002 after Peter McNamara (d. 2004), the original award Convenor, shortly after he was diagnosed with an incurable disease. It is given out at the discretion of the Convenors. After six years of being the administrator, Fantastic Queensland ended their partnership with Chimaera Publications. On 18 May 2010 it

160-692: A certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing (such as science fiction or politics ). There are also awards dedicated to works in individual languages, such as the Miguel de Cervantes Prize ( Spanish ); the Camões Prize ( Portuguese ); the Booker Prize , The Writers' Prize , the Pulitzer Prize and the Hugo Award ( English ). Other international literary prizes include

192-407: A civilised, stable and happy society. Here he echoed the conviction of the mythologist Joseph Campbell who had maintained the strongly asserted generality that the level of civilised behaviour in a society is directly linked to the practice of ceremonies and rites of passage . In addition, Messenger makes the following statements: To be powerful and effective, such ceremonies, in the view of all

224-407: A division are reviewed by a judging panel of at least three members, which selects each year's finalists and winners for their respective division. One of the judges on each panel is also the panel Convenor . Two changes to the award structure were introduced in 2004. The awards became administered by Fantastic Queensland, a volunteer group that promotes Australian speculative fiction. A new division

256-502: A non-profit organization) as the presenter and public face of the award, and another organization as the financial sponsor or backer, who pays the prize remuneration and the cost of the ceremony and public relations, typically a corporate sponsor who may sometimes attach their name to the award (such as the Orange Prize ). There are awards for various writing formats including poetry and novels . Many awards are also dedicated to

288-437: A person inspired to improve lives at a deep and lasting level. For this reason they must be carefully chosen. The ideal is that they be educated in the humanities and trained to expertly co-create, creatively write and perform ceremonies. The funeral ritual, too, is a public, traditional and symbolic means of expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the death of someone loved. Rich in history and rife with symbolism,

320-501: A sense of identity, esteem, shared values and beliefs and shared memorable events. Every ritual contains tender and sacred moments. And in those moments of sensitivity We are taken out of the normal flow of life, And out of our routines. We are then in an event that is irreplaceable and sacred . In ritual we participate in something deep and significant. They are moments which move our heart And touch our spirit. Lionel Murphy also knew that

352-417: A third inoffensive bland book. He says there are now so many awards and prizes it has diluted the prestige of being a prize-winning book. Flanagan clarifies he is not against literary awards, but believes they should not be taken too seriously as a form of support for literary culture. Ceremony A ceremony ( UK : / ˈ s ɛ r ə m ə n i / , US : / ˈ s ɛ r ə ˌ m oʊ n i / )

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384-454: Is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin caerimonia . According to Dally Messenger and Alain de Botton , in most Western countries the values and ideals articulated in both church and civil ceremonies are generally similar. The difference

416-530: Is in what Messenger calls the "supernatural infrastructure" or de Botton the "implausible supernatural element". Most religions claim some extra advantage conferred by the deity, e.g., Roman Catholics believe that through the words of consecration in the mass ceremony, God himself becomes actually present on the altar. Both religious and civil ceremonies share the powerful psychological, social and cultural influences which all ceremony seeks to attain. The style of music played, words used, other components and

448-408: Is judged as such. The award was originally given out in the following divisions: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Young Adult . Two separate awards are given in each of those divisions, one for novels and one for short stories. A fifth division for Children's books was added in 2001 for fiction for 8-12 year olds, with separate awards for "Short Fiction" and "Long Fiction". With the 2008 Awards

480-592: Is the Kris Hembury Encouragement Award. During the years 2001 to 2007 the category "best children’s illustrated work/picture book" was simply known as "best children’s short fiction" and "best children's novel" was known as "best children's long fiction". From 1998 to 2000 the Peter McNamara Convenors' Award for excellence was known simply as the Convenors' Award for excellence but was changed in honour of Peter McNamara

512-1101: The Nobel Prize in Literature , the Franz Kafka Prize , and the Jerusalem Prize . The International Dublin Literary Award is given to writers, as well as to the translator(s) if the book chosen was written in a language other than English. Spoof awards include: The Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award , the Bookseller /Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year , and the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction and Lyttle Lytton Contests , given to deliberately bad grammar There are also literary awards targeted specifically to encourage

544-486: The "Short Fiction" children's fiction category became a category for "Illustrated Work/Picture Book". For the 2010 Awards, the two categories became one for children's fiction told primarily through pictures and another for children's fiction told primarily through words. For the 2013 Awards, the two categories were merged into a single category for children's books. The Young Adult and Children's categories cover books in all three speculative fiction genres. Submissions within

576-616: The Continuum Foundation (ConFound), a Melbourne based group, from 2018 to 2020, before moving back to Canberra from 2021, this time overseen by the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild (CSFG). In 2016, the short story categories for science fiction, fantasy, and horror were subdivided into categories for short story and novella. Also presented at Aurealis Awards ceremonies since the 2009 awards, although not officially an Aurealis Award,

608-533: The United Kingdom and some states of the US. According to Dally Messenger III secular ceremonies are "roadmap" influences which lead to an acceptable, ethical and dignified life. Ceremonies contribute to the unseen ingredients of psychological stability, a sense of identity, reassurances of life's purposes, and the personal sense of self-worth. Murphy considered that personal genuine ceremonies were central to

640-597: The contract, exchange of rings and the wedding cake . Writer and philosopher de Botton maintains atheists should appropriate many of the useful insights, artistic treasures and symbolism inspired by religion. He argues that the secular world can also learn from the religions the importance of community and continuity. Messenger agrees, and points out that the success of civil celebrants in Australia has been partly due to their espousing of these principles, both in theory and practice, since 1973. The main impetus to

672-425: The culture. Done well, they can assist in major decision-making , bring emotional security , strengthen bonds between people , and communicate a sense of contentment . To quote David Oldfield: Rituals and ceremonies are an essential and basic means for human beings to give themselves and others the necessary messages which enable the individual to stay human. They communicate acceptance, love,

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704-520: The development of quality civil ceremonies in the Western world was the foresight of the Australian statesman, senator and high court judge, Lionel Murphy . In 1973 in Australia, the civil celebrant program entrusted appropriately selected individuals to provide non-church people with ceremonies of substance and dignity. This initiative to a great extent has now been followed by New Zealand, Canada,

736-419: The funeral ceremony helps us acknowledge the reality of the death, gives testimony to the life of the deceased, encourages the expression of grief in a way consistent with the culture's values, provides support to mourners, allows for the embracing of faith and beliefs about life and death, and offers continuity and hope for the living. Naming Ceremonies existed in human culture long before Christianity or any of

768-443: The major religions came on the scene. Every community has a ceremony to welcome a new child into the world, to give that child recognition, and to celebrate the birth of new life. Other, society-wide ceremonies may mark annual or seasonal or recurrent events such as: Other ceremonies underscore the importance of non-regular special occasions, such as: In some Asian cultures, ceremonies also play an important social role, for example

800-412: The original convenor. In earlier years the eligibility period was 1 November to 31 October, rather than the current 1 January to 31 December. The transitional period was the 2010 Awards for which the eligibility period was 1 November 2009 to 31 December 2010. Literary award Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony . Many awards are structured with one organization (usually

832-449: The scholars in the field, had to have impact. This occurred when the ceremony was framed by the visual and performing arts. Great care had to be taken in creating and choosing the poetry, prose, stories, personal journeys, myths, silences, dance, music and song, shared meditations, choreography and symbolism which comprised a ceremony. To reinforce the psychological and cultural power of ceremony it should be enacted, as far as possible, in

864-453: The structure vary. As Edward Schillebeeckx writes about the marriage ceremony , there are a number of ancient traditional elements in both church and civil ceremonies in the western world. Key ceremonies date from the pre-Christian Roman and Greek times, and their practices have continued through the centuries. For example, from pre-Christian Roman times in the marriage ceremony, we inherit best men and bridesmaids , processions, signing of

896-408: The superficial, the unaware, were not the right persons to bring this about. The civil celebrant needs to have a rich skill-set and knowledge base. Murphy is on the record as asserting that the civil celebrant needed to have a "feel" for ceremony and be professional, knowledgeable, educated, creative, imaginative, inspired, well presented, idealistic, and well practised. The civil celebrant should be

928-569: The writing from African American origin and authors of African descent. Two of these awards are Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence , which was established in 2007 by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation , and Hurston/Wright Legacy Award , which is a given by the National Community of Black Writers. Australian author Richard Flanagan wrote a critique of literary awards, saying "National prizes are often

960-439: Was added, Golden Aurealis , for both short stories and books, drawn from the winners of the other divisions. There is also an associated Peter McNamara Conveners' Award for Excellence for "a particular achievement in speculative fiction or related areas in the relevant year, but may also take into account achievements over a number of years. This may also be for a non-fiction work, a collection or anthology, an art work, or for

992-615: Was announced that Chimaera Publications had reached an agreement with Conflux Inc, who will host the awards for the next two years. In addition, the awards ceremony would be held in Canberra . In May 2015 it was announced that the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF) would be overseeing the awards for the next three years. Following WASFF's tenure, the Awards moved to be hosted by

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1024-460: Was announced that Chimaera had entered a new deal with SpecFaction NSW who would administer the awards for 2010. Later in 2010 SpecFaction NSW announced that they reached a deal with HarperVoyager to be the exclusive sponsor for the 2010 Awards which would be held in May 2011. After three years of running the awards, SpecFaction NSW, decided they would not continue hosting the awards. On 7 May 2013 it

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