2025 Aurora Awards

The 2024 Aurora Awards were handed out on August 10, 2025, in a live streaming ceremony: YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

The Winners

  • Best Novel:  The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohamed, Solaris
  • Best YA Novel: Heavenly Tyrant, Xiran Jay Zhao, Tundra Books
  • Best Novelette/Novella:  The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed, Tordotcom/Titan Books (UK)
  • Best Short Story: “Blood and Desert Dreams“, Y.M. Pang, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 408
  • Best Graphic Novel:  Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio, IDW Publishing
  • Best Poem/Song “Cthulhu on the Shores of Osaka“, Y.M. Pang, Invitation: A One-shot Anthology of Speculative Fiction
  • Best Related Work:  Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Two
    Stephen Kotowych, editor, Ansible Press
  • Best Cover Art/Interior Illustration:  Augur Magazine, Issue 7.1, cover art, Martine Nguyen
  • Best Fan Writing and Publication: SF&F Book Reviews, Robert Runté, Ottawa Review of Books
  • Best Fan Related Work:  murmurstations, Sonia Urlando, Augur Society, podcast

The Voting Statistics

Awards voting grids (PDF)

The Nominees

Best Novel

  • Blackheart Man, Nalo Hopkinson, Saga Press
  • Pale Grey Dot, Don Miasek, Ravenstone
  • The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohamed, Solaris
  • The Tapestry of Time, Kate Heartfield, Harper Voyager
  • Withered, A.G.A. Wilmot, ECW Press

Best Young Adult Novel

  • The Door in Lake Mallion, S.M. Beiko, ECW Press
  • Heavenly Tyrant, Xiran Jay Zhao, Tundra Books
  • The Lost Expedition: The Dream Rider Saga, Book 3, Douglas Smith, Spiral Path Books
  • Misadventures in Ghosthunting, Melissa Yue, Harper Collins
  • Spaced!, C.L. Carey, Renaissance

Best Novelette/Novella

  • The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed, Tordotcom/Titan Books (UK)
  • “Carter’s Refugio“, Hayden Trenholm, Analog SF&F, Sept/Oct
  • Countess, Suzan Palumbo, ECW Press
  • The Dragonfly Gambit, A.D. Sui, Neon Hemlock Press
  • “Zebra Meridian“,Geoffrey W. Cole, Zebra Meridian and Other Stories, Stelliform Press

Best Short Story

  • “A World of Milk and Promises“, R H Wesley, Clarkesworld, Issue 216
  • “And When She Shatters“, Kerry C. Byrne, Heartlines Spec, Issue 4
  • “Blood and Desert Dreams“, Y.M. Pang, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 408
  • “BUDDY RAYMOND’S NO-BULLSHIT GUIDE TO DRONE HUNTING“, Gillian Secord, Diabolical Plots, #108A
  • “Desolation Sounds“, Geoffrey W. Cole, Zebra Meridian and Other Stories, Stelliform Press

Best Graphic Novel/Comic

  • Cemetery Kids Don’t Die vol. 1 (#1-4), Zac Thompson, illustrated by Daniel Irrizari, Gegé Schall, and Brittany Peer, Oni Press
  • Into the Goblin Market, Vikki VanSickle, illustrated by Jensine Eckwall, Tundra Books
  • It Never Rains, Kari Maaren, webcomic
  • Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio, IDW Publishing
  • Wheetago War: Roth, Richard Van Camp, illustrated by Christopher Shy, Renegade Arts Entertainment
  • A Witch’s Guide to Burning, Aminder Dhaliwal, Drawn and Quarterly

Best Poem/Song

  • “Angakkuq“, Shantell Powell, On Spec Magazine, Vol 24, Issue 130
  • “Cthulhu on the Shores of Osaka“, Y.M. Pang, Invitation: A One-shot Anthology of Speculative Fiction
  • “Her Favourite“, Beth Cato and Rhonda Parrish, Star*Line, Vol 47, Issue 4
  • “Horizon Events“, J.D. Dresner, Polar Starlight, Issue #15
  • “A Thirst for Adventure“, Lynne Sargent, Polar Borealis, Issue #28
  • “Trip Through the Robot“, Carolyn Clink and David Clink, Giant Robot Poems: On Mecha-Human Science, Culture & War

Best Related Work

  • Augur Magazine Vol 7, Issues 7.1-7.3, Kerry C. Byrne, Toria Liao, André Geleynse, Frankie Hagg, and Conyer Clayton, Augur Society
  • Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror, Sofia Ajram, Ghoulish Books
  • Northern Nights, Michael Kelly, Undertow Publications
  • On Spec Magazine, Vol 34, Issues 127-130, Diane L. Walton Managing Editor, The Copper Pig Writers’ Society
  • Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Two, Stephen Kotowych, Ansible Press

Best Cover Art/Interior Illustration

  • Augur Magazine, Issue 7.1, cover art, Martine Nguyen
  • Augur Magazine, Issue 7.2, cover art, Frances Philip 
  • Augur Magazine, Issue 7.3, cover art, Lorna Antoniazzi
  • Captains of Black and Brass, cover art, James Beveridge, On Spec Magazine, Vol 34, Issue 129  
  • Northern Nights, cover art, Serena Malyon, Undertow Publications See note 2 below

Best Fan Writing and Publication

  • Clubhouse Canadian Speculative Fiction reviews, R. Graeme Cameron, Amazing Stories Magazine
  • James Nicoll Reviews, James Davis Nicoll, online
  • Polar Starlight Magazine, Issues 13-16, Rhea E. Rose, editor
  • SF&F Book Reviews, Robert Runté, Ottawa Review of Books
  • Speculating Canada, Derek Newman-Stille

Best Fan Related Work

  • murmurstations, Sonia Urlando, Augur Society, podcast
  • Scintillation 2024, co-chairs, Jo Walton and René Walling, Montreal
  • Two Old Farts Talk Sci-Fi Podcast, Troy Harkin and David Clink
  • Wizards & Spaceships Podcast, Rachel A. Rosen and David L. Clink
  • The Worldshapers Podcast, Edward Willett 

Update:  We are sad to say that we have had to remove the graphic novel, “Zatanna: Bring Down the House by Mariko Tamaki”, because this work was added without approval.

Update 2: The cover art for Northern Nights has been disqualified. The art had been used on an anthology in 2022 which means it was not first published in 2024. Please note: Michael Kelly’s Northern Nights in the Related Work category is still eligible.

Ver 1.2, June 19, 2025