About Us

The Stella Prize is a major literary award celebrating Australian women’s writing, and an organisation that champions cultural change.

Stella was created in 2012 to counter the gender bias rife in the Australian literary landscape at the time.  As an organisation, Stella seeks to:

• recognise and celebrate Australian women writers’ contribution to literature
• bring more readers to books by women and thus increase their sales
• equip young readers with the skills to question gender disparities and challenge stereotypes, and help girls find their voice
• reward one writer with a $50,000 prize – money that buys a writer some measure of financial independence and thus time, that most undervalued yet necessary commodity for women, to focus on their writing

The reclamation of Stella Maria Sarah ‘Miles’ Franklin’s first name is a nod to her gender, which was obscured by her pen name. As a feminist organisation, Stella grapples with our namesake’s role as a ‘canonical’ literary figure in Australia’s history of colonisation, which has endured – both on the page and off – through the marginalisation of other voices. Through our programs and activities, Stella strives to champion diverse stories and perspectives.

The Stella Prize runs events at bookshops, festivals and universities around Australia. We compile the annual Stella Count, tracking the number of books by men and women reviewed in our major newspapers and literary magazines.

In 2014, we launched the Stella Schools Program, which aims to inspire change and to empower students – girls and boys alike – by encouraging them to critically engage with their own reading habits and imagine a future not limited by their gender.

For updates on the Stella Prize’s events and activities, and to receive notifications of our longlist, shortlist and winner as soon as each is announced, please sign up for our enewsletter below.