Aurealis Award for best collection
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. The judges are selected from a public application process by the Award's management team.
The award for best collection was first awarded in 2008 along with two other categories; best anthology and best illustrated book or graphic novel to replace the discontinued Golden Aurealis awards.
This article lists all the short-list nominees and winners in the best collection category. Angela Slatter holds the record for most wins, having won three times. Slatter also holds the record for most nominations, having been nominated eight 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 & Editor | Collection | Publisher | Ref |
| & Russell B. Farr * | ' | Ticonderoga Publications | ||
| Creeping in Reptile Flesh | Altair Australia Books | |||
| * | Oceanic | Gollancz | ||
| & Alisa Krasnostein | ' | Twelfth Planet Press | ||
| & Geoffrey Maloney | Slice of Life | |||
| & Donna Hanson | Johnny Phillips Werewolf Detective | Australian Speculative Fiction | ||
| * | ' | Ticonderoga Publications | ||
| ' | PS Publishing | |||
| Under Stones | Affirm Press | |||
| Sourdough and Other Stories | Tartarus Press | |||
| Dead Sea Fruit | Ticonderoga Publications | |||
| * | Bluegrass Symphony | Ticonderoga Publications | ||
| Bad Power | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| Last Days of Kali Yuga | Brimstone Press | |||
| Nightsiders | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| Love and Romanpunk | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| * | That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote | K. J. Bishop | ||
| Metro Winds | Allen & Unwin | |||
| & Angela Slatter | Midnight and Moonshine | Ticonderoga Publications | ||
| Living With the Dead | Dark Prints Press | |||
| Through Splintered Walls | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| * | ' | FableCroft Publishing | ||
| Asymmetry | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| Caution: Contains Small Parts | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| ' | Ticonderoga Publications | |||
| ' | Ticonderoga Publications | |||
| & Angela Slatter* | ' | Twelfth Planet Press | ||
| Secret Lives | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| Angel Dust | Ticonderoga Publications | |||
| Difficult Second Album: more stories of Xenobiology, Space Elevators, and Bats Out Of Hell | Peggy Bright Books | |||
| Tartarus Press | ||||
| Black-Winged Angels | Ticonderoga Publications | |||
| * | To Hold the Bridge | Allen & Unwin | ||
| ' | Brimstone Press | |||
| Striking Fire | FableCroft Publishing | |||
| Cherry Crow Children | Twelfth Planet Press | |||
| ' | ||||
| ' | Ticonderoga Publications | |||
| * | A Feast of Sorrows | Prime | ||
| Crow Shine | Ticonderoga Publications | |||
| Concentration | PS Publishing | |||
| Winter Children | PS Publishing | |||
| & Kim Wilkins* | ' | Ticonderoga Publications | ||
| ' | Brain Jar Press | |||
| Beneath the Floating City | ||||
| Singing My Sister Down and Other Stories | Allen & Unwin | |||
| Please Look After This Angel & Other Winged Stories | ||||
| Perfect Little Stitches and Other Stories | IFWG Publishing | |||
| * | Tales from The Inner City | Allen & Unwin | ||
| Not Quite the End of the World | Brain Jar Press | |||
| Phantom Limbs | PS Publishing | |||
| Exploring Dark Short Fiction 2: A Primer to Kaaron Warren | Dark Moon Books | |||
| Collision: Stories | Meerkat Press | |||
| Blackbirds Sing | CAT Press | |||
| Scar Tissue and Other Stories | Clan Destine Press | |||
| Five Dragons | Four Ink Press | |||
| Stray Bats | Small Beer Press | |||
| Men and Machines I: Space Operas and Special Ops | Flying Nun Publications |
I' Greg Egan declined to accept the award for Oceanic''.