Now in its eighth year, The Stella Prize is the latest award to announce its 2021 longlist. Named for celebrated author Miles Franklin, prize’s goal is to address gender imbalances in Australian literary awards, and to celebrate the work of the country’s finest female and non-binary writers.
Over 160 entries were whittled down to just 12, by a judging panel consisting of writer and editor Zoya Patel, playwright, author and Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival Director Jane Harrison, 3RRR radio producer, presenter and literary critic Elizabeth McCarthy, Production Editor of The Saturday Paper Ian See, and Deputy Programme Director at Edinburgh Book Festival Tamara Zimet.
Five debut works made it onto the list, with genres spanning from personal essays and short stories to YA fiction and investigative journalism. Each longlisted author will receive a $1000 prize, and will go on to vie for a coveted shortlist spot later in the year.
Here’s the full list – library cards at the ready!
- Fathoms: the world in the whale by Rebecca Giggs (Scribe Publications)
- Revenge: Murder in Three Parts by S.L. Lim (Transit Lounge)
- The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay (Scribe Publications)
- Witness by Louise Milligan (Hachette Australia)
- Metal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath Moore (Text Publishing)
- The Wandering by Intan Paramaditha (Penguin Random House)
- Stone Sky Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe (University of Queensland Press)
- Blueberries by Ellena Savage (Text Publishing)
- Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson (Hachette Australia)
- Smart Ovens for Lonely People by Elizabeth Tan (Brio Books)
- A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing by Jessie Tu (Allen & Unwin)
- The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld (Penguin Random House)
You can watch the full announcement, led by Stella Prize Executive Director Jaclyn Booton and judging chair Patel below:
Of the longlisted works, Booton said:
“The past year saw the world change in myriad ways. Yet the acts of reading and writing endured, providing
much-needed refuge against the uncertainty we all faced. As Australians sheltered in place across the country for
stretches of time, we turned to writers — to comfort us, to enlighten us, and to galvanize us — even while the
battle for our attention was greater than ever. And wow did Australian women and non-binary authors deliver!
The 2021 Stella Prize longlist exemplifies the talent, imagination, and dedication of the twelve authors; I
congratulate them and thank them for these outstanding books.”
The 2021 Stella Prize shortlist will be announced on Thursday 25 March, and the overall winner will be announced on Thursday 22 April.
For more info on the prize and the longlisted works, check out The Stella Prize website HERE.
