The Australian Shadows Awards, also known as the Australasian Shadows Awards, are annual literary awards established by the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) in 2005 to honour the best published works of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian/New Zealand/Oceania resident in the previous calendar year.

Awards criteria and history

Works are judged on their overall effect within the horror genre based on the author's skill, delivery, and the work's lasting resonance. Each year, a director is appointed by the AHWA to administer the award. Shortlists for each category are determined by a panel of judges, and the shortlisted nominees are announced in March/April every year. From 2005 to 2008, the Australian Shadows Award evaluated novels, anthologies, and short stories against each other in a single category. In 2009, the award was expanded into three categories: Short Fiction, Long Fiction, and Edited Publication. From 2011, the award was restructured to consist of five categories: Novel; Long Fiction (novellas and novelettes); Short Fiction (short stories); Collection (single author collections); and Edited Publication (anthologies and magazine issues). In 2013, the 'Long Fiction' award category was renamed 'Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction' in honour of New Zealand/Australian author Paul Haines. The Australian Shadows Awards were sponsored by Altair Australia Books in its first two years, through the donation of two statuettes created by dark fantasy artist Brom (supplied by The Franklin Mint). Currently, winners of the awards receive a hand crafted trophy from the masters of the horror special effects industry, Nightshade FX.

Winners and nominees

In the below list, the years correspond to the year of the book's eligibility; the awards are always announced the following year. If the short story was originally published in an anthology with other stories rather than by itself or in a magazine, the anthology title and anthology publisher's name is included.

2005

Judges

Winner

Nominees

2006

Judges

Winner

Nominees

Honourable mentions

2007

Judges

Winner

Nominees

Honourable mentions

2008

Judges

Winner

Nominees

2009

Judges

Long fiction

Winner

Nominees

Edited Publication

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

2010

Judges

Long fiction

Winner

Nominees

Edited Publication

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

2011

Judges

Novel

Winner

Honourable mention

Long fiction

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

Edited Publication

Winner

Nominees

Collection

Winner

Nominees

2012

Judges

Novel

Winner

Nominees

Long fiction

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

Edited Publication

Winner

Nominees

Collection

Winner

Nominees

2013

Judges

Novel

Winner

Nominees

Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

Edited Publication

Winner

Nominees

Collection

Winner

Nominees

2014

Judges

Novel

Winner

Nominees

Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

Edited Publication

Winner

Nominees

Collection

Winner

Nominees

2015

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

Edited works

Winner

Nominees

Collected works

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

Comics/Graphic Novels

Winner

Nominees

The Rocky Wood Award for Non-fiction and Criticism

Winner

Novels

Winner

Nominees

2016

Award Director: Claire Fitzpatrick

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

Collected works

Winner

Nominees

Edited Work

Winner

Nominees

Novel

Winner

Nominees

Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

2017

Award Director: J. Ashley Smith

The Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

Nominees

Written Work in a Comic/Graphic Novel

No award.

Edited Work

Winner

Nominees

Collected Work

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

Novel

Winner

Nominees

2018

Award Director: Silvia Brown

Poetry

Winner

Nominees

Written Work in a Comic/Graphic Novel

Winner

Edited Work

Winner

Nominees

Collected Work

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

Novel

Winner

Nominees

2019

The winners were announced in June 2019:

Poetry

Winner

Nominees

Written Work in a Comic/Graphic Novel

Winner

Edited Work

Winner

Nominees

Collected Work

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

Novel

Winner

Nominees

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

Nominees

2020

Poetry

Winner

Nominees

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

Nominees

Graphic Novel

Winner

Nominees

Edited Work

Winner

Nominees

Collected Work

Winner

Nominees

Short fiction

Winner

Nominees

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

Novel

Winner

Nominees

2021

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

Nominees

Poetry

Winner

Nominees

Graphic Novel

Winner

Nominees

Edited Work

Winner

Nominees

Collected Work

Winner

Nominees

Short Fiction

Winner

Nominees

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

Novel

Winner

Nominees

2022

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Winner

Nominees

Poetry

Winner

Nominees

Graphic Novel

Winner

Nominees

Edited Work

Winner

Nominees

Collected Work

Winner

Nominees

Short Fiction

Winner

Nominees

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Winner

Nominees

Novel

Winner

Nominees

2023

Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism

Nominees

Poetry

Nominees

Graphic Novel

Nominees

Edited Work

Nominees

Collected Work

Nominees

Short Fiction

Nominees

The Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction

Nominees

Novel

Nominees