Josh Kemp’s novel Jasper Cliff named finalist in Aurealis Awards

With just two days to go before entries for the Fogarty Literary Award close, a book by one of 2023 Fogarty Award shortlisters is in the running for a 2024 Aurealis Award. Jasper Cliff by Josh Kemp is one of six finalists in the Best Horror Novel category.

The novel follows Lachlan Bowman as he searches for his missing twin brother, Toby. Making his way to the remote northern town of Jasper Cliff, Lachlan learns that his brother is one of many to have gone missing in recent years .And like his brother, Lachlan becomes obsessed with finding the Rift, a deep hole in a ravine somewhere in the hills.

Jasper Cliff keeps up the sense of dread and awe as it veers from a complex outback mystery into something much darker and more ambiguous.

Josh Kemp said, ‘While I love playing with genre in my writing, testing expectations of crime and Australian gothic fiction, I have always considered myself a horror writer. So to be embraced by the Australian horror writing community with this shortlisting is a dream come true.’

Kemp thanked the judges and congratulated the other shortlisted authors: J S Breukelaar for Remedy, A B Finlayson for Rock Zombie, David-Jack Fletcher for The Count, Ben Pienaar for Carve Your Soul to Pieces and Deborah Sheldon for Bodily Harm.

Now in its 30th year, the 2024 Aurealis Awards – Australia’s premier speculative fiction award – attracted more than 830 entries across 15 categories.

The 2024 Aurealis Awards ceremony will take place online on Sunday 4 May at 4.00 pm.

Jasper Cliff is available in all good bookstores and online.