Jan Butterworth, Press Officer for the Science Fiction Fantasy Association of New Zealand (SFFANZ), has asked me to advise blog readers that the Sir Julius Vogel Awards will be open for nomination from 1 January 2011, closing on 31 March 2011.

Sir Julius Vogel Award trophy

The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are given annually by SFFANZ and recognize achievement in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by New Zealanders. Previous professional category winners include Brian Falkner, Russell Kirkpatrick, Anna MacKenzie, James Norcliffe, Juliet Marillier and Nalini Singh, and I won the award for Best Novel: Young Adult for Thornspell in 2009.

The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are a reader’s/fan choice award and initial nominations are  open to everyone. The final vote for shortlisted works is restricted to members of SFFANZ and those attending the national convention (to be held next year over Queen’s Birthday weekend.)

Categories of award, for works created by a New Zealander and first published or released in the 2010 calendar year, include:

Professional Categories:
Best Novel
Best Novella or Novelette
Best Short Story
Best Collected Work
Best Artwork
Dramatic Presentation
– Long Form
– Short Form
Best Production/Publication
Best New Talent

Fan Categories:
Best Fan Writing
Best Fan Artwork
Best Fan Editing
Best Fan Publication
Best Fan Production

Special Awards:
Services to Fandom
Services to Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror

If you’re interested in finding out more or nominating a work or works, you can read  the rules and criteria here. I will also post more information about how to nominate a work early in 2011, once the period for nomination opens.