Aurealis winners 2025

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The 2025 Aurealis Awards winners for speculative fiction have been announced. Of special interest:

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

Winner
Little Bones, Sandy Bigna (UQP)

Finalists
Villain, Adrian Beck (Scholastic Australia)
Moonboy, Anna Ciddor (Allen & Unwin)
Escape from Firestone Fortress, Rachel Jackson (Riveted Press)
The Last Seed Keeper, Paul Russell (EK Books)
When the Mountain Wakes, Matt Shanks (Affirm Press)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Winner
The Serpent Called Mercy, Roanne Lau (New Dawn)

Finalists

Blood Moon Bride, Demet Divaroren (Allen & Unwin)
Lady’s Knight, Amie Kaufman & Megan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)
Dark Sun Rising, A A Kinsela (Plainspeak Publishing)
This Stays Between Us, Margot McGovern (Penguin Random House Australia)
Unhallowed Halls, Lili Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin)