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Small British publisher wins the 'Palm d'Or of Australian SF' - the first time a TV tie-in book has ever won such an award.

Doctor Who: Fallen Gods, by Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman.

Pictured (right): The winning book - Fallen Gods – and the Aurealis Award. All images © Telos Publishing Ltd. 2003, used with permission.

A small press British publisher has garnered a major award for a novella in their tie-in Doctor Who book range as the company’s license to continue the Time Lord’s adventures in print is removed.

Telos Publishing is a small British publisher responsible – amongst other things - for an outstanding range of tie-in fiction, featuring adventures set in the universe of BBC TV’s long-running science fiction series Doctor Who. Now, as the companies ‘Who range comes to an end they have announced that Fallen Gods, a novella written by Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman, has won the Aurealis Magazine ‘Award for Best Novel of 2003’. This is the first time in the history of the Aurealis Awards, World Fantasy Awards, World Horror Awards and Hugo Awards that any TV tie-in volume has won in the category for ‘Best Novel’.

Speculative Fiction

Keith Stevenson of Aurealis Magazine said: "Since 1995, the Aurealis Awards have celebrated the best works in the Australian speculative fiction genre. The Award winners are selected by a panel of industry professionals: writers, editors, and critics who are all active in the field. 2003 saw the very first media tie-in novel winning the Science Fiction Award. It's a testament to the depth of writing and artistry of Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman that Fallen Gods took out the top honours against strong works from some of the best authors Australia has to offer."

The Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction were established in 1995 by the publishers of Aurealis Magazine to recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers. There are five divisions, in addition to the Convenor's Awards for Excellence. To be eligible, works must have been written by an Australian and first published in the relevant calendar year. There are five divisions: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult and Children's. The Young Adult and Children’s categories each cover all three genres.

The judges; Robert Hood, Maxine McArthur, Benjamin Payne and Tansy Rayner; Roberts had this to add: "The novel category was also characterised by excellent work within popular film and TV franchises: a Star Wars trilogy by Sean Williams and Shane Dix and two Doctor Who novels – one by Kate Orman and the other by Kate and husband Jonathan Blum. Remarkably, both the latter books made it onto the shortlist. Kate's Blue Box is a detailed and imaginative exploration of the beginnings of the internet, with the Doctor effectively adding a dramatic commentary to a bizarre treasure hunt.

Blitz

“But it was Fallen Gods that blitzed the field; all four judges, independently, gave it close to the highest rating possible. Fallen Gods, which gains rather than loses from its concise nature, is a complex, beautifully researched and conceived novel. It requires of the reader no particular knowledge of the Doctor Who universe – rather, it creates its own world, with a poetry and moral seriousness captured in some of the best writing of the year!" Ben Payne further went on to say: "Fallen Gods is one of the most elegant works of sci-fi I've read for some time, and deserves to find a wide audience."

David Howe, director of Telos, commented: "As an editor I’m always looking for great writing, and a powerful plot, and Fallen Gods had both of these in spades. It's very heartening to know that we have managed to break what some may dismiss as mere 'spin-offery' into a wider arena, and hopefully this will encourage readers to explore more of this sort of fiction to discover what wonders may be lurking there."

Fan Readership

Stephen James Walker, co-director, added: "I feel this really vindicates the approach that Telos took with the Doctor Who Novellas – trying to reach out to a market beyond the usual Doctor Who fan readership. Jon and Kate delivered a superb entry in the series, and thoroughly deserve this award. Of course David and I would love to be able to continue to produce the Novellas, and to have the opportunity to bring further kudos to the Doctor Who brand, but sadly that isn't possible, as BBC Worldwide have declined to renew our license."

The Award was accepted by author Grant Watson, whose delight was plain to see: "This is an utterly amazing thing," he said. "The Aurealis is a jury-voted professional science fiction award, kind of like the Palm d'Or of Australian SF. It's a big deal. Books published in this country that win the award tend to boast about it on their covers. To win this, Jon and Kate were considered better by a jury of SF professionals than four other novels including one by a New York Times bestselling author. Congrats Jon and Kate!! Congrats David Howe for editing them!! What a victory for Doctor Who prose fiction!"

Last Chance

Since the first of the Telos Doctor Who novellas was issued in November of 2001 some have been released in both a standard and deluxe hardback editions – with a handful also making it onto the shelves as paperback editions. The Doctor Who novellas are coming to an end, so anyone looking to complete the set should act now to avoid disapointment, as these editions are likely to prove extremely collectable in the future.

The full list shapes up like this: The Dalek Factor by Simon Clark, Blood and Hope by Iain McLaughlin, Companion Piece by Mike Tucker & Robert Perry, Eye of the Tyger by Paul McAuley, Frayed by Tara Samms, Fallen Gods by Jonathan Blum & Kate Orman, The Cabinet of Light by Daniel O'Mahony, Shell Shock by Simon A. Forward, Wonderland by Mark Chadbourn, Rip Tide by Louise Cooper, Foreign Devils by Andrew Cartmel, Ghost Ship by Keith Topping, Nightdreamers by Tom Arden, Citadel of Dreams by Dave Stone and Time and Relative by Kim Newman.

Following the publication of their final Doctor Who tie-in novella; Simon Clarks’ The Dalek Factor Telos is continuing with an ongoing series of ‘Time Hunter’ novellas, following the adventures of Honoré Lechasseur.

All images © Telos Publishing Ltd 2003, used with permission.

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