Aurealis Award for best fantasy 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 January and 31 December 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 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 fantasy novel category, as well as novels that have received honourable mentions or have been highly commended. Since 2003, honourable mentions and high commendations have been awarded intermittently. Juliet Marillier holds the record for most wins with 4. Marillier holds the record for most nominations with 12, and Glenda Larke has the most nominations without winning, having been a losing finalist ten times.
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 blue 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 | Ref |
| * | Sabriel | Moonstone | ||
| Allen & Unwin | ||||
| Battleaxe | Voyager Books | |||
| Mus of Kerbridge | TSR | |||
| Pan Macmillan | ||||
| * | Bantam Books | |||
| * | Enchanter | Voyager Books | ||
| * | StarMan | Voyager Books | ||
| Pan Macmillan | ||||
| Cairo Jim and the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods | Hachette Children's Books Australia | |||
| Equinox | Pan Macmillan | |||
| * | Random House | |||
| Darkfall | Penguin Books | |||
| Sinner | Voyager Books | |||
| Dragonclaw | Random House | |||
| Black Ice | Hodder Headline | |||
| * | Omnibus Books | |||
| * | Fire Angels | Avon Eos | ||
| Pilgrim | Voyager Books | |||
| Penguin Books | ||||
| Cold Iron | Hodder | |||
| * | Aramaya | Avon Eos | ||
| Crusader | Voyager Books | |||
| Random House | ||||
| Omnibus Books | ||||
| Daughter of the Forest | Pan Macmillan | |||
| * | Son of the Shadows | Pan Macmillan | ||
| Voyager Books | ||||
| UQP | ||||
| Medalon | Voyager Books | |||
| Vixen | Sceptre | |||
| * | Voyager Books | |||
| Child of the Prophecy | Pan Macmillan | |||
| Lirael | Allen & Unwin | |||
| Penguin Books | ||||
| Voyager Books | ||||
| * | Voyager Books | |||
| Voyager Books | ||||
| Penguin Books | ||||
| Hades' Daughter | Voyager Books | |||
| Voyager Books | ||||
| Blood | Voyager Books | |||
| * | Abhorsen | Allen & Unwin | ||
| Prime Books | ||||
| Grass for His Pillow | Hodder | |||
| Voyager Books | ||||
| Voyage of the Shadowmoon | Tor Books | |||
| * | Voyager Books | |||
| Brilliance of the Moon | Hodder | |||
| The Tainted | Voyager Books | |||
| Snow, Fire, Sword | Random House | |||
| Giants of the Frost | Voyager Books | |||
| * | Blade of Fortriu | Pan Macmillan | ||
| Darkwitch Rising | Voyager Books | |||
| Nightpeople | UQP | |||
| Surrender | Penguin Books | |||
| Voyager Books | ||||
| * | Wildwood Dancing | Pan Macmillan | ||
| Penguin Books | ||||
| Heart of the Mirage | Voyager Books | |||
| Voidfarer | Tor Books | |||
| Blaze of Glory | Random House | |||
| * | Heaven's Net Is Wide | Hachette | ||
| Voyager Books | ||||
| Five Star Publishing | ||||
| Song of the Shiver Barrens | Voyager Books | |||
| Heart of Gold | Random House | |||
| * | HarperCollins | |||
| Amberlight | Juno Books | |||
| Tender Morsels | Allen & Unwin | |||
| Heir to Sevenwaters | Pan Macmillan | |||
| HarperVoyager | ||||
| * | Magician's Apprentice | Orbit Books | ||
| Horn | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| HarperVoyager | ||||
| Witches Incorporated | HarperVoyager | |||
| HarperVoyager | ||||
| * | HarperVoyager | |||
| Andrea K Hösth | ||||
| Orbit Books | ||||
| HarperVoyager | ||||
| Pan Macmillan | ||||
| * | Ember and Ash | Hachette | ||
| HarperVoyager | ||||
| Stormlord's Exile | HarperVoyager | |||
| Debris | Angry Robot | |||
| HarperVoyager | ||||
| * | Sea Hearts | Allen & Unwin | ||
| Bitter Greens | Random House Australia | |||
| Stormdancer | Tor UK | |||
| Flame of Sevenwaters | Pan Macmillan Australia | |||
| Winter Be My Shield | HarperVoyager | |||
| * | ' | Mitchell Hogan | ||
| Lexicon | Hachette Australia | |||
| & Meagan Spooner | These Broken Stars | Allen & Unwin | ||
| Newt's Emerald | Jill Grinberg Literary Management | |||
| Ink Black Magic | FableCroft Publishing | |||
| * | Dreamer's Pool | Pan Macmillan Australia | ||
| Fireborn | Hachette Australia | |||
| & Meagan Spooner | This Shattered World | Allen & Unwin | ||
| Hachette Australia | ||||
| Afterworlds | Penguin Books Australia | |||
| Daughters of the Storm | Harlequin Enterprises Australia | |||
| * | Day Boy | Text Publishing | ||
| In the Skin of a Monster | Allen & Unwin | |||
| Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club | HarperCollins | |||
| ' | HarperVoyager | |||
| Tower of Thorns | Pan Macmillan Australia | |||
| Skin | Text Publishing | |||
| * | Nevernight | HarperVoyager | ||
| ' | Hachette Australia | |||
| Den of Wolves | Pan Macmillan Australia | |||
| Vigil | Jo Fletcher Books | |||
| Road to Winter | Text Publishing | |||
| Sisters of the Fire | Harlequin Australia | |||
| * | Godsgrave | HarperCollins Publishers | ||
| Crossroads of Canopy | Tor Books | |||
| Gwen | Fremantle Press | |||
| Cassandra | Odyssey Books | |||
| Gap Year in Ghost Town | Allen & Unwin | |||
| Wellside | Candlemark & Gleam | |||
| * | City of Lies | Penguin Random House | ||
| * | ' | Hachette Australia | ||
| Devouring Dark | Grey Matter Press | |||
| Lady Helen and the Dark Days Deceit | HarperCollins Publishers | |||
| Lightning Tracks | Plainspeak Publishing | |||
| We Ride the Storm | ||||
| Angel Mage | Allen & Unwin | |||
| Darkdawn | HarperCollins Publishers | |||
| The Wailing Woman | Piatkus | |||
| The Harp of Kings | Macmillan | |||
| The Darkest Bloom | Scholastic | |||
| Graveyard Shift in Ghost Town | Allen & Unwin |
Honourable mentions and highly commended novels
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 | Novel | Publisher | Ref |
| 2003 | Scrutator | Viking Press | ||
| 2003 | Lamplighter | HarperCollins | ||
| 2005 | * | Priestess of the White | Voyager Books | |
| 2006 | White Tiger | Voyager Books | ||
| 2006 | Hachette Livre | |||
| 2007 | Blood Ties | Hachette Australia | ||
| 2007 | Empress of Mijak | Voyager Books |