If the 2022 Stella prize shortlist showcased the rise of Australian poetry, this year’s shortlist is a story about the publishers – with all six titles chosen by the judges coming from small and independent publishers.
Announced on Thursday morning, the shortlist includes Gudanji/Wakaja writer and educator Debra Dank’s memoir-of-sorts We Come With This Place, out through Echo Publishing; big beautiful female theory by Eloise Grills, a book of essays and illustrations from Affirm Press; Sarah Holland-Batt’s poetry collection The Jaguar, from UQP; and Adriane Howell’s novel Hydra, from Transit Lounge.
Also on the shortlist is Louisa Lim’s merging of reportage and memoir about Hong Kong’s untold stories, Indelible City, through Text; and Bad Art Mother by Edwina Preston, which merges Melbourne literary history with a fictional tale about motherhood, sacrifice and art.
The Stella prize celebrates “original, excellent, and engaging” writing by Australian women and non-binary writers; each shortlisted title gets $4,000, with the winner taking $60,000 on top.
In 2023 the prize is being judged by the author Alice Pung, the Gomeroi writer Alison Whittaker, the editor and writer Jeff Sparrow, and the critics Astrid Edwards and Beejay Silcox. Sparrow and Silcox both write for Guardian Australia.
“Although all the books on our shortlist are very different, common themes emerge about a woman’s relationship to her art and to the world around her,” said Pung, the chair of the judging panel, said in a statement. “All our shortlisted books also explore with moving complexity some of the most pivotal relationships in a woman’s life, and their roles as daughters, partners, wives, and mothers.
“Our shortlist includes both established and debut creators – but all of the publishers are small presses. This speaks to the importance of small publishers in amplifying Australia’s most exciting, innovative, and creative work.”
The winner will be announced in Sydney on Thursday 27 April.
