Ottley wins at World Fantasy Awards
Australian author, visual artist and composer Matt Ottley has been recognised in the category of special award—professional in the 2023 World Fantasy Awards for his book The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness (Dirt Lane Press).
Books+Publishing reviewer M H Alessandrino described the book as a ‘multi-modal sensory feast that merges words, art and music’, and as a ‘bold and immersive … allegory for the experience of psychosis’. ‘Doctors tell [the protagonist] that there is a tree growing inside of him and that this tree blooms flowers of ecstasy and bears fruits of sadness.’
Discussing the win in an Instagram post, Ottley said: ‘This is an award category for a work that doesn’t neatly fit into conventional categories … It would be fantastic if Australia could be so forward thinking in its literary awards to broaden its categories, particularly for picture books—so many awards in Australia only allow picture books that are for 13 years and under!’
Listed among a shortlist of five, Ottley won the award at the World Fantasy Convention in Kansas City, United States. The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness was also previously awarded best graphic novel/illustrated work in the 2022 Aurealis Awards.
Other winners at the World Fantasy Awards include:
Novel
- Saint Death’s Daughter (C S E Cooney, Solaris)
Novella
- Pomegranates (Priya Sharma, Absinthe Books)
Short fiction
- ‘Incident at Bear Creek Lodge’ by Tananarive Due in Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology (ed by Vince A Liaguno & Rena Mason, William Morrow)
Anthology
- Africa Risen: A new era of speculative fiction (ed by Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki & Zelda Knight, Tordotcom)
Collection
- All Nightmare Long (Tim Lebbon, PS Publishing)
Artist
- Kinuko Y Craft
Special award—non-professional
- Michael Kelly for Undertow Publications.
The Tor website has published the full list of shortlisted and winning entries.
Category: Awards Local news
