Lee Battersby is an Australian author of science fiction,

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, and

horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...

. His story "Carrying The God" made him the first Western Australian winner in the

Writers of the Future Writers of the Future (WOTF) is a science fiction and fantasy story contest that was established by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s. A sister contest, Illustrators of the Future, presents awards for science fiction art. Hubbard characterized th ...

Competition in 2002, and was awarded the 2003

Ditmar Award The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise a ...

for Best New Talent. His short story "Tales of Nireym" was a finalist in the Fantasy section of the 2005

Aurealis Award The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...

s, and "Pater Familias" won Best Horror Short Story in the 2006 awards. Another story, "Father Muerte & The Flesh", the third in his popular Father Muerte series, was awarded the inaugural Australian Shadows Award for outstanding literary achievement by the

Australian Horror Writers Association The Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) is a non-profit organisation that commenced in 2003 with the goal of providing a unified voice and sense of community for Australian writers of dark fiction ( horror and dark fantasy) and to furthe ...

in 2006. He won the award again in 2008 for "The Claws of Native Ghosts", a story which appeared in Graveside Tales' anthology "The Beast Within". Battersby was one of the tutors at

Clarion South Clarion may refer to: Music * Clarion (instrument), a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages * The register of a clarinet that ranges from B4 to C6 * A trumpet organ stop that usually plays an octave above unison pitch * "Clarion" (song), a 2 ...

2007, along with SF writers

Robert Hood Robert Hood (born 1965 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of the group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister of Information' with Mad Mike Banks and Jeff Mills. He is often conside ...

, Simon Brown,

Margo Lanagan Margo Lanagan (born 1960 in Waratah, New South Wales) is an Australian writer of short stories and young adult fiction. Biography She grew up in Raymond Terrace and moved to Melbourne circa 1971/1972. After overseas travel, she moved to Sydney ...

and

Kelly Link Kelly Link (born July 19, 1969) is an American editor and author of short stories. While some of her fiction falls more clearly within genre categories, many of her stories might be described as slipstream or magic realism: a combination of sci ...

; and editor

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American people, American science fiction author and editing, editor. He was the founding editor of ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of ...

. His first collection, ''

Through Soft Air ''Through Soft Air'' is the first short story collection from Australian speculative fiction writer Lee Battersby. Printed in 2006, it was published by US Publisher Prime Books Sean Wallace (born January 1, 1976) is an American science fiction ...

'', was released by US Publisher

Prime Books Sean Wallace (born January 1, 1976) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologist, editor, and publisher best known for founding the publishing house Prime Books and for co-editing three magazines, ''Clarkesworld Magazine'', ''T ...

in March 2006. It contains 25 stories, including both "Tales of Nireym" and "Pater Familias". "Dark Ages", a story exclusive to the collection, was nominated for both best Fantasy Short Story and Best SF Short Story in the 2006 Aurealis Awards. In 2007, he contributed a story to the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' short-story collection, '' Short Trips: Destination Prague''. In 2013, he contributed an essay to the ''Upcoming4.me'' charity non-fiction anthology, ''Story Behind the Book : Volume 1''.

References

External links

Prime Books

Reviews of Through Soft Air from ASif!

Story behind The Marching Dead

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battersby, Lee Australian fantasy writers Australian horror writers Australian science fiction writers Australian male short story writers Living people 1970 births