It’s become a bit of a bad habit for me to not attend awards ceremonies, so again I can only apologise for not being here at the Shadows Awards tonight.

To the nominees who couldn’t attend either, I know how you feel in that respect, but you should all feel proud to be finalists in the Australian Shadows Awards for 2017.

To those who have come along to our first-ever Shadows Awards ceremony, I say thank you. We’ve put this event together not only to recognise the best of Australasia’s horror talent, but also highlight just how amazing the horror community is.

These awards were judged by fellow members who volunteered their time to read dozens and dozens of stories in a fairly short space of time. This is only one of the examples of just how dedicated our members are to the success of the genre. Thank you to the judges.

I’d also like to thank the organisers of the Continuum Convention for allowing us to host our little event on their turf. We truly appreciate the gesture.

To the AHWA Committee, particularly Secretary and Shadows Co-ordinator Joseph Ashley-Smith (the chap reading this) and General Member Silvia Brown thank you for all your hard work behind the scenes to make this ceremony happen.

Best of luck to all the finalists!

Greg Chapman
President, AHWA