The Ditmar Award would be the equivalent of the Croatian SFERA Award, if it were merged with European Science Fiction Society Awards. Kind of. The wikipedia entry equates it with the Hugo, and it is in as much as there is voting going on.Â
But since Australian authors are eligible for a Hugo regardless of where the story was first published, while Ditmar eligibility hinges on the work being published in Australia, much as the SFERA Awards do in Croatia. So, I would hesitate to equate the two.
The award used to be called Australian SF (“Ditmar”) Award and Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award as it is awarded in order to recognize achievement in Australian science fiction (including fantasy and horror) and science fiction fandom.
The Ditmar is the national Australian award and the categories include best genre novel, novella, short story, collected work, artwork, fan writer, fan artist, fan publication in any medium and new talent. It has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention. This is a moveable con, much like the our Eurocon, with various Australian cons bidding for the “Natcon” two years in advance.
Thus, yesterday evening at Conflux, the Ditmars were awarded in a short and brilliantly exectued ceremony, with a very witty host Deborah Biancotti, Lego activities and presenters chosen from the audience by means of raffle tickets.
The winners of the 2013 Ditmar Awards are:
- Best Novel:Â Sea Hearts, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
- Best Novella or Novelette: âSkyâ, Kaaron Warren, in Through Splintered Walls (Twelfth Planet Press)
- Best Short Story:Â Â âThe Wisdom of Antsâ, Thoraiya Dyer, in Clarkesworld 75
- Best Collected Work: Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren, edited by Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)
- Best Artwork: Cover art, Kathleen Jennings, for Midnight and Moonshine (Ticonderoga Publications)
- Best Fan Writer:Â Tansy Rayner Roberts, for body of work including reviews in Not If YouWere The Last Short Story On Earth
- Best Fan Artist: Kathleen Jennings, for body of work including âThe Dalek Gameâ and âThe Tamsyn Webb Sketchbookâ
- Best Fan Publication in Any Medium: “The Writer and the Critic”, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mooned
- Best New Talent:Â David McDonald
- William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review: Tansy Rayner Roberts, for âHistorically Authentic Sexism in Fantasy. Let’s Unpack That.â, in tor.com