Voting opens for 2025 Aurora Awards

Submitted by Douglas Smith on Fri, 2025/06/06 - 3:02pm

Voting for the 2025 Aurora Awards is now open!

The Auroras are fan-voted awards recognizing the best of Canadian SF & Fantasy published the previous year. Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident may vote for the Auroras.

This year's final ballot has been announced, and I am thrilled that it includes my most recent novel: 

The Lost Expedition: The Dream Rider Saga, Book 3

Nominated for Best YA Novel

I'm hoping you will consider voting for me.

Below, I explain how to vote as well as how to download the Voters' Package containing your complimentary copy of ALL the works on the ballot, including:

  • 10 novels
  • 6 graphic novels
  • 5 novelettes
  • 5 short stories
  • ... and more!

Pretty sweet, eh? But first, let me tell you a bit about my nominated novel.

The Lost Expedition: The Dream Rider Saga, Book 3

The conclusion to The Dream Rider trilogy, which includes The Hollow Boys (winner of the 2023 Aurora Award and juried IAP Award) and The Crystal Key (finalist for the 2024 Aurora Award) has received universal praise, with a 4.7⭐ rating on Amazon and 4.6⭐ on BookBub, plus garnering these raves from top book review sites:

"A lavishly concocted ride brimming with magic, mystery, and mayhem…  Takeaway: Explosive conclusion to this spectacular fantasy joyride.” — BookLife (Editor's Pick)

“There is a sweeping majesty to the world building we have not seen since A Wrinkle in Time.” — The Ottawa Review of Books

“I enjoyed every minute I spent with these characters, and I will miss them now that their story is done.” — SF Crowsnest Reviews

If you haven't read The Lost Expedition, see below to learn how to get it in your complimentary copy of the Voters' Package.

How to Register to Vote

To vote in the Auroras (and to access the Voters' Package of nominated works), you must be a 2025 member of the Canadian SF & Fantasy Association, the body that administers the Auroras.

(Note: If you nominated works earlier for this year's awards, you're already registered and can skip this step! Just jump down to "How to Vote.")

To register for 2025:

  • Go here and click on "Not a Member Yet?"
  • Enter your info, then select a username and password. (If the password box contains black dots, hold down "DELETE" to clear the box, then enter a password.)
  • Registration costs $10 CAD, which not only lets you vote, but also download the Voters' Package of ALL the nominated works: 16 novels, 5 novelettes, 5 short stories, and more! That's a pretty amazing deal, imo.

Registration for voting (and access to the Voters' Package) closes at midnight on Saturday July 12, a week before voting closes.

How to Vote in the Auroras

  • Once you're registered, log in to the Aurora Awards site, then go to the Member's Home page. 
  • From there, click on "Voting" to access the 2024 Aurora voting ballot.
  • The Auroras use a ranked voting method (more info here). To vote, sort your choices from 1 (your favourite) to 5 (your least favourite), by dragging your selections with your mouse (or finger for touch screens) above the voting line (the line that says, “No pick underneath this line will be counted”). 
  • As you do this, your choice will display its ranking. If you make a mistake, just move your choice to a different position or back below the voting line.

You do not have to rank all works in a category, and you do not have to vote in all categories. But I would truly appreciate if you would consider voting for: 

The Lost Expedition under Best YA Novel

Thank you for any consideration you give my book.

Submitting Your Ballot

  • When you've ranked all your choices for the categories you’re interested in, click the “Send Ballot” button at the bottom of the form. This will lock and submit your selections.
  • Do NOT submit your ballot until all your selections are done. Unlike the nomination process, you will not be able to edit your ballot once submitted.
  • Also, if you close your ballot before submitting it, your choices will be cleared and not saved, and you will have to start again.
  • In other words, don't start to vote until you know everything you wish to vote for and can complete your voting in one session.

Remember, for your ballot to count you must click the “Send Ballot” button at the bottom of the form.

Voting closes at midnight on July 19.

Get Your Voters' Package!

The Voters' Package contains electronic versions of all nominated works, made available through the generosity of the nominees and publishers so voters may read the works and make informed decisions when voting.

Once you've registered to vote, you can download the Voters' Package from the Member's Home page (or directly here).

Access to the Voters' Package closes at midnight Saturday July 12, a week before voting closes.

~~~

I hope you'll take advantage of this great opportunity to read the best works of Canadian speculative fiction from 2024, and hopefully, vote for a work you enjoyed.

Until then, happy reading! And as always, thanks for being a fan and supporter of my writing.