Join us for an Aurealis issue packed with SFF surprises, quirks and charms. Dirk Strasser concludes his series on the origin and early years of the Aurealis Awards in their thirtieth anniversary year with some stories about the first Award ceremonies. Rosanna Watts explores the psychological distress caused by environmental change in 'Goodbye Lucy'. Stephen Higgins' 'Context' is a ghost story that's really about being human. Ben Blattberg's 'How Grandpa Bear Saved Old Oak From Fire' looks ...

Join us for our August issue Aurealis #193 where Kaaron Warren curses the darkness as she dissects why she loves horror in her guest editorial. Jocasta Suzanne and Maddison Stoff combine to give you 'The Map and Territory', an intriguing alien-contact story with a clever take on philosophy's role in science fiction. Reunite with Kaaron Warren to see how the horror cruise story idea in her editorial comes to life (or is it death?) in 'Song of the Stormy Petrel'. Neurocleric's 'Treasure Moon...

Aurealis #191 features the provocative 'The New Thirty' by Anne Aulsebrook, stunningly illustrated by Peter Allert, the dynamic 'Crow' by Kit Holmes, masterfully illustrated by Joel Bisaillon and the thoughtful 'A Good Age to Go' by Adam Porkolab, sensationally illustrated by Rebecca Stewart. Our engrossing non-fiction roster brings you 'The Magic Realism of Barbara Comyns' by Lynne Lumsden Green, 'Paying for Impossibility—the Trade-off in Science Fiction' by Matthew Harrison and Travis Ba...

Our July 2026 issue opens with a guest editorial by Scott Vandervalk who shares his search for new hooks in fantasy stories. Aurealis #192 features the captivating 'The Square' by EL Edwards, the disquieting 'Sons & Fathers' by Ben Peek and the unsettling 'Tethered' by John Mavin, with stunning illustrations by Josh Hardie, Zuzanna Kwiecien and James Spence respectively. Our intriguing non-fiction includes 'What Science Fiction Gets Wrong about Colonising Mars by Daniel Thompson', 'Potatoe...

So rich, so rare, so exhilarating – Aurealis #185, our October 2025 issue, is all of that with the edgy 'Birdie' by John Pegios, the measured and unsettling 'Catch and Consume' by Ella T Holmes and the lingering creepiness of 'Hooked' by Caroline Barnard-Smith. These top shelf stories have stunning illustrations from Rayji de Guia, Simon Walpole and Rebecca Stewart respectively. On top of this feast we have fascinating non-fiction from Claire Fitzpatrick, Andrew Kolarik and Trevor Howis pl...

Aurealis has reached a milestone very few science fiction and fantasy magazines reach. This is our hundredth issue. And it's three times the size of our normal issues. We have gone back and contacted everyone who appeared in Aurealis #1 in 1990 and asked them for a new story. Not everyone was contactable, and we've included some surprises, so strap yourself in and get ready to be blasted into a strange place that is somehow both the past and the future. David Tansey, the author of the firs...

We asked some of Australia's top fantasy and science fiction authors to select two of their stories tied together by a single theme and to write an introduction on how they had explored that theme — to give some insight into their writing and how they see the big issues. We also paired the writers with Australia's top SF artists, so that each publication also showcases the illustrator. Then we released the publications in pairs. The result is the Aurealis Duos series.In these two m...

Can you see the story breathing?Imagine*A mountain so great it takes a year to travel from base to summitA sun so powerful it drives you into madness if you look at itAn ascent so vital it determines the fate of the worldA summit so precious it holds the key to the divine*The world of the great Mountain is unstable. Giant pillars erupt from the surface and yawning chasms form unpredictably underfoot. Since the Maelir first st...

Can you see the story breathing?The Keep*The most beautiful city on the great MountainThe pinnacle of Maelir cultureThe home of the Inner SanctumThe place where secrets hide*The fate of the Mountain hangs in balance at the time of Equinox, and even the Keep can no longer remain untouched. The Maelir are desperate to defend it, the Faemir to demolish it, the windriders to claim it. But unknown to them all, a dark force has alr...

Can you see the story breathing?*What happens if after the winter solstice, the days keep getting shorter?And shorter?Until there is an eternal night?**What happens as the darkness grows?And the creatures of dusk take control of the Mountain?And the quest for the third Book is the only hope?*The Mountain is in its death throes as the Nazir send their wraiths to finish what the dusk-rats and grale had begun. Soon there...

Watch as the sands take shape…A desert wind whispers of memory and regretAn army marches high in the golden skiesA traveller grows tired of seeing the end of the worldA man no longer wants to be humanA people run eternally from the rising sunIn this evocative collection of short fiction Dirk Strasser shapes eighteen stories suffused by the sands of loss, understanding and redemption."Dirk Strasser is a master practitioner of the short...

In this issue Dirk Strasser looks at the intensely private portal books that opened up reading for each of us. Clive McAlpin's 'The Spoils' transports us to a truly alien yet strangely recognisable Australia. In the hard science fiction story with heart, 'The Empty Quarter', Jai Baidell takes us to a planet evacuated by humans after indigenous life forms have reasserted themselves, while Pierce Skinner's 'Sacrifice' drags us kicking and screaming to place where the only choice is between t...