About Stella

Stella began in 2012 with the Stella Prize, a major literary award celebrating Australian women’s writing. The aim was to counter the gender bias rife in the Australian literary landscape at the time and promote cultural change through the recognition of women’s perspectives.  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

Stella also 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 Stella’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.