There’s been a few posts from authors already letting us know what they have produced that is eligible.
What iz teh Ditmarz?
The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Natcon to recognise achievement in Australian science fiction (including fantasy and horror) and science fiction fandom. They are named for Ditmar "Dick" Jenssen, an Australian fan and artist, who financially supported the awards at their inception. (Source:http://wiki.sf.org.au/Ditmar_Award).
In essence our national Science Fiction award recognizing Authors, Artists, Academics and Fans.
The times they are a changing?
Fandom is changing, as is publishing. Where once somebody would have sweated blood to produce a fanzine using the school work a photocopier and hand stapler, then posted them out to a mailing list. Now, well now we have even seen professional magazines like Aurealis abandon print and much fan discussion has moved online.
While some may argue that since the barriers to publication have dropped, so have standards I'd counter with - access has improved and science fiction readers are a pretty diverse an sophisticated lot capable of sorting wheat from chaff.
Who’s eligible"?
You can check out the eligibility list here. If any of your favourite authors are missing (remember the rules for eligibility though) feel free to make a suggestion in the comments and I can add it to the list. The Ditmar rules are located here.
My eligibles are:
Best Fan Publication
- Galactic Chat, Tansy Rayner Roberts,Alisa Krasnostein and Sean Wright.
- Snapshot 2012, Alisa Krasnostein, Kathryn Linge, David McDonald, Helen Merrick, Ian Mond, Jason Nahrung, Alex Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Tehani Wessely and Sean Wright (Snapshot Roundup)
- The Adventures of a Bookonaut Podcast Episode 1, Sean Wright[4]
Best Fan Writer -
Sean Wright, for body of work including reviews in Adventures of a Bookonaut. (reviews index)
William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review
for 40 + speculative fiction reviews, pick your favourite.
Nominations
Nominations can be posted here.
You will note it’s a fairly comprehensive form and you have to be known, or active in fandom to nominate. My physical attendance at fan events has been limited until recently owing to living very remotely.
But my blogging and participation online I believe constitutes being active and so should it for you dear reader, who may never have been able to attend a convention, yet contribute to the conversation through forum discussions, comments and perhaps your own blog/publications.
There’s a swathe of eligible works, from people I respect and know, to people and publications I have never heard of. The more the merrier, we want a robust field to chose from.
I won’t be at the Natcon this year, but last years ceremony was a blast with the co-comparing of Ian Mond and Kirstyn McDermott. It was a shock and honour to be nominated twice. This year I expect the competition to be stiff as there is just so much quality being produced in Australia from the professional to the fan writer.
