THE INTERNATIONAL AEON AWARD SHORT FICTION CONTEST FOR HORROR, SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY |
The Fourth International Aeon Award Short Fiction Contest 2009 |
| The Aeon Award 2009 was the Fourth International Aeon Award Short Fiction Contest. It ran from January 1st 2009 to November 30th 2009. The Grand Prize was €1000 and publication in Albedo One. Second and third place prizes were €200 and €100, respectively, and publication in Albedo One. Thanks, as always, must go to the entrants for supporting this writing conest, and all those who supported the contest with publicity. Grand Judge Ian Watson chose the winners. First place went to "Frogs on My Doorstep" by Annette Reader. Watson remarked that the story was "very intriguing and full of emotional impact. The alternate world concept is handled very convincingly, and is reminiscent of the recent work of Chris Beckett." Reader received the €1000 Grand Prize and publication in Albedo One. Her story will be published in issue 39 of Albedo One, due out early Autumn 2010. Second place goes to "Bridges" by Nick Wood. Watson said the story, featuring a future South Africa in which apartheid never ended, is "politically acute and powerful, with its heart in the right place… and is in many ways a 'textbook story', because it's so well done." Second prize is €200 and publication in a future issue of Albedo One.Third place goes to "Canis Lupus, Rosa Canina" by Judith Brown. Watson said "the story is nasty, but brilliantly written, with masterly descriptions of landscape and powerful imagery." Third prize is €100 and publication in a future issue of Albedo One. The story, "A Falcon Sharp and Passing" by Donald Mead, which placed in the top six of the shortlisted stories for 2009, has subsequently been published online as the inaugural story of Albedo One's Albedo 2.0 Fiction Showcase series of excellent original fiction published exclusively online. The full shortlist from the Aeon Award 2009 writing competition is provided below, with the top six stories denoted by asterisks (and listed in no particular order). A Falcon Sharp and Passing *** by Donald Mead Canis Lupus, Rosa Canina *** by Judith Brown Frogs on my Doorstep *** by Annette Reader Something Other *** by David Heaton Bridges *** by Nick Wood Fenn, Brother of Francis *** by Susan McElheran He Who Picks the Bones by Frank W. Haubold (translated by Jason Roberts) Trimble Does Time by Gerard Farrell In the Boughs of his Blood Orange Tree a Vampire Sat to Dream of Love by Ian Wild Stars in the Skies by Jennifer Harwood-Smith Don't Go Playing with Naiads by Alice Godwin The Girl in the Blue Bikini by Peter Loftus Once, When the Sun Rose in the West by Susan Lanigan Deconstruction by Alexis Boddy Reflected Glory by Peter Loftus Conversion by Jennifer Harwood-Smith All the Beautiful Lights of Heaven by Russ Colson Star in a Glass by Vaughan Stanger Wailing Wheel by Joe Nazare Angele Dei by Chandler Kaiden Lost Things by Jennifer Harwood-Smith On the Feast of Stephen by Cyril Simsa The Art of the Intractable by Nathan Jones Gordon Street by Katharine Clayden Pirate Copies by Ian D. Martin |
Albedo One issue 39, featuring "Frogs on My Doorstep" by Annette Reader, Winner of the International Aeon Award 2009 Short Fiction Contest. |
Albedo One issue 40, featuring the Second and Third Place Winning Stories from the International Aeon Award 2009 Short Fiction Contest, "Bridges" by Nick Wood and "Canis Lupis, Rosa Canina" by Judith Brown. |
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