Dirk Strasser

Changes to the Aurealis Awards 1 Queensland Writers Centre to host the 2026-28 ceremonies 2 Generative AI works explicitly forbidden 3 No AI permitted in judging process 4 $20 entry fee for long form works entered 1 Oct to 30 Nov but published before 1 Oct aurealisawards.org/2025/08/01/aur…

Aurealis 181 — Science Fiction & Fantasy aurealis.com.au A Playlist for the End of Humankind by JB Draper The Muse Murders by Michael Pryor Good Fences by Sarah Morgan

In 1538 Peru a #conquistador army and its #Inca allies searching for a city of gold vanishes. This is their incredible story. #historicalfantasy The 99c eBook is available until the end of June. Warning: Don't click if you like cookie-cutter fantasy. books2read.com/Conquist

#Aurealis 179 Science Fiction & Fantasy Out Now Goodbye Lucy—Rosanna Watts Context—Stephen Higgins How Grandpa Bear Saved Old Oak From Fire—Ben Blattberg The Funny Thing About Kobolds Weaving in the Humor Disability in Speculative Fiction +SFF Book Reviews aurealis.com.au

Non-fiction in Issue #178 has the absorbing ‘Clark Ashton Smith and the Zothique’ by Joseph Sullivan, the engrossing ‘Frankenstein in Pop Culture: The Early Years’ by Claire Fitzpatrick, fascinating ‘Tasmanian Gothic: Landscape as a Vessel for Horror’ by Stuart Olver.

Aurealis #178 is out now. Enjoy our SFF smorgasbord of fiction, non-fiction, illustrations and reviews! aurealis.com.au

The Australian Writers' Guild's John Hinde Award for unproduced science fiction scripts is open for entries until 2 April! Entries may be feature or short film, TV or web series, audio, animation, children’s television, game or interactive media. mcusercontent.com/6090ff3f816e1d…

Five SFF Stories In Which the Best-Laid Plans Are Thwarted Who among us has not been betrayed by the failure of a simple plan that should have worked? This seems to be a perverse tendency of the universe, as well as a popular theme in fiction... buff.ly/3Q4mfEx

8 Incredible Examples of Epistolary Horror The epistolary format weaves a powerful illusion of authenticity, framing fiction as real-life, firsthand surviving documentation. In the same way “based on a true story” sends a chill through the spine... buff.ly/3Q08Gpy

Five SFF Books About Not-So-Dark Lords Readers like dark stuff. They like Dark Lords like Darth Vader and Sauron. And we also love it when it turns out that they are not so dark, after all. buff.ly/40Gezx8

Five SFF Stories About Lawyers and the Law While a law-based approach to conflict resolution may seem less compelling than danger and violence from a storytelling perspective, there is plenty of drama in legal disputes... buff.ly/4hGMaxH

Five Books to Pair With a Good Cup of Tea Tea is a beverage that is infused with history. There are records of people brewing and consuming tea possibly as far back as the 2nd century BC. Judy I. Lin highlights five SFF books that feature tea... buff.ly/40XgHSl

Treasuring the Books No One Else Seems to Love What does it feel like to love a book no one else seems to have heard of? Molly Templeton dives into the experience of carrying a book inside your heart all alone. buff.ly/42GwMxi

Five Books About Telepathy Telepathy can be an extremely useful tool for SFF writers, especially when thinking about how to have characters communicate over long distances, or in dire circumstances... buff.ly/4jzsWMe

Starting a Home Lending Library Has Made Me a Better Friend For those of us who read a lot, it can be hard to understand people who don’t. Reading 500-page epic fantasies regularly can seem daunting to someone who only reads 2-3 books a year... buff.ly/40Vb47k

Imagining and Understanding the Alien: Insects in Science Fiction Jonathan Thornton examines the influence insects have had on shaping our connection to alien life forms over the last century, from fear to understanding and empathy. buff.ly/4aFKjHj

Five SFF Books About Technology and Grief Technological advances impact the way we do everything these days—even the way we grieve. From Instagram tributes to memorial Facebook pages, we’re thinking more and more about the messages we leave behind. buff.ly/4gqwuOj

Five Books Featuring Uploaded Minds and Memories Human bodies have their advantages, but in the end they are all too delicate. But imagine if a mind could be backed up or saved somehow. Here are 5 SFF books that tackle the idea of recorded memories. buff.ly/40Bqdt4

The Books We Read as Children Always Change Us — Let’s Embrace It There is a fascinating conversation to be had about the ways children’s books change young readers for the better. Kali Wallace celebrates the joy of letting books shape us as we grow. buff.ly/40YeOVH

8 SFF Stories About the Joys of Bread and Baking Bread is a staple in our literature–the universality of bread likely makes it appealing for fantasy authors reaching for something to feed their characters that is fairly historically & culturally neutral... buff.ly/49XtDL8