“Pathos, rage, and wild, joyful swagger” 12 exceptional books by Australian women are in the running for the 2023 Stella Prize.
The longlist announcement is hosted by the Chair of the 2023 Stella Prize Judging Panel, award-winning author Alice Pung OAM, joined by her fellow judges Alison Whittaker, Astrid Edwards, Beejay Silcox and Jeff Sparrow for a lively and wide-ranging discussion about this year’s outstanding longlist.
The 2023 Stella Prize longlist can be defined by its risk-taking, innovation, and emotional punch. It spans novels – including works of historical and speculative fiction – memoir and biography, journalism, a graphic novel, and two collections of poetry, with over half the longlist published by small or independent publishers. The list includes four debut authors.
The $60,000 Stella Prize is awarded annually to one outstanding book deemed to be original, excellent, and engaging. This year’s prize saw over 200 entries. The 12 titles selected are evidence of the extraordinary calibre of work being published by Australian women and non-binary writers.
In alphabetical order by author’s surname, the 2023 Stella Prize longlist is:
The Furies by Mandy Beaumont (Hachette Australia)
Every Version of You by Grace Chan (Affirm Press)
We Come With This Place by Debra Dank (Echo Publishing)
big beautiful female theory by Eloise Grills (Affirm Press)
The Jaguar by Sarah Holland-Batt (University of Queensland Press)
Hydra by Adriane Howell (Transit Lounge)
Jack of Hearts: QX11594 by Jackie Huggins & Ngaire Jarro (Magabala Books)
All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien (HQ Fiction/HarperCollins Publishers)
Indelible City by Louisa Lim (Text Publishing)
Iris by Fiona Kelly McGregor (Pan Macmillan Australia)
Decadence by Thuy On (UWA Publishing)
Bad Art Mother by Edwina Preston (Wakefield Press)