The Sunburst Awards for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic  are presented annually to Canadian writers with a speculative fiction novel or book-length collection of speculative fiction published any time during the previous year.

This year’s short-listed works in the adult category are:

• Blackdog by  K. V. Johansen (Pyr Books)
• Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism, by David Nickle (Chizine Publications)
• Technicolor Ultra Mall by Ryan Oakley (EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing)
• Enter, Night by Michael Rowe (Chizine Publications)
• Paradise Tales by Geoff Ryman (Small Beer Press)
• The Pattern Scars by Caitlin Sweet (Chizine Publications)

The short-listed works in the young adult category are:

• Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson (Lerner Publishing Group)
• All Good Children by Catherine Austen (Orca Book Publishers)
• The Summer of Permanent Wants by Jamieson Findlay (Doubleday Canada)
• The Dead Kid Detective Agency by Evan Munday (ECW Press)
• Blood Red Road: Dustlands: 1 by Moira Young (Doubleday Canada)

The awards will be presented in the fall of 2012.

The jurors for the 2012 award are: Douglas Barbour, Zsuzsi Gartner, Daniel Justice, Lorna Toolis and Halli Villegas.

The winners receive a cash prize of $1,000 as well as a hand-crafted medallion which incorporates the Sunburst logo.

The Sunburst Award takes its name from the debut novel of the late Phyllis Gotlieb, one of the first published authors of contemporary Canadian speculative fiction.

For additional information about the Sunburst Award, the nominees and jurors, as well as previous awards, eligibility and the selection process, please visit the website at www.sunburstaward.org.