2026 Stella Prize

2026 Stella Prize


Lauren Williams

The 2026 Stella Prize Longlist presents another twelve exceptional works by Australian women and non-binary writers. 

Spanning poetry, memoir, fiction, non-fiction and graphic works, the 2026 longlist presents themes that explore the transformative power of memory, truth and the intrinsic beauty of creative fiction. 

This year Stella received 212 entries. In the coming weeks, this list will be reduced to six to make up the short list, to be announced on Wednesday, April 8th, before one extraordinary book is awarded the $60,000 Stella Prize, announced May 13th.

Shop the full long list at Harry Hartog Bookseller and pick your winner!

Winner of the 2026 Stella Prize

Cannon is a compelling depiction of a fracturing friendship between two queer, second-generation Chinese women. It is also a bruising examination of the lifelong weight that people – often women – carry, the profound toll it takes to be the “responsible one”, and what can happen when you are being taken advantage of repeatedly, all the while maintaining a sense of humor in its story-telling.

Lai’s elegant artistry evokes horror and poignancy, shock and delight, and Cannon is an incontestable reminder that – in the hands of a masterful artist and storyteller – the very best graphic novels can do what prose alone cannot.

The 2026 Stella Prize shortlist

Cannon by Lee Lai

The Rot by Evelyn Araluen

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

Fireweather by Miranda Darling 

58 Facets: On violence and the law by Marika Sosnowski

I Am Nannertgarrook by Tasma Walton

2026 Stella Prize longlist

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy - 9781761620003
$34.99
Charlotte McConaghy
Wild Dark Shore
WINNER OF THE 2026 INDIE BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE 2025 DYMOCKS BOOK...
Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks - 9780733651076
$32.99
Geraldine Brooks
Memorial Days
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 STELLA PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION...
Find Me at the Jaffa Gate by Micaela Sahhar - 9781761170287
$34.99
Micaela Sahhar
Find Me at the Jaffa Gate
**Winner, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2026, Non-Fiction** **Shortlisted, NSW Literary Awards 2026, Douglas Stewart Prize...
Wait Here by Lucy Nelson - 9781761632389
$32.99
Lucy Nelson
Wait Here
A dazzling collection of hilarious and heart-wrenching stories united by a groundbreaking theme: each is...
Cannon by Lee Lai - 9781923106406
$39.95
Lee Lai
Cannon
**Shortlisted, Carol Shields Prize for Fiction 2026** **Shortlisted, Stella Prize 2026** **Shortlisted, Victorian Premier's Literary...
The Rot by Evelyn Araluen - 9780702268960
$24.99
Evelyn Araluen
The Rot
The scorching, much-anticipated new book from the winner of the 2022 Stella Prize for Dropbear...
Apron-Sorrow / Sovereign-Tea
$49.95
Natalie Harkin
Apron-Sorrow / Sovereign-Tea
she lingers in archives / her trace is my memory / we labour dig sweat...
I Am Nannertgarrook by Tasma Walton - 9781761426698
$34.99
Tasma Walton
I Am Nannertgarrook
Shortlisted for the 2026 Stella Prize Winner of the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize Shortlisted...
KONTRA by Eunice Andrada - 9781923106475
$27.00
Eunice Andrada
KONTRA
**Winner, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2026, Poetry** KONTRA enacts a poetics of clashing decadences, testing...
58 Facets by Marika Sosnowski - 9780522881738
$29.99
Marika Sosnowski
58 Facets
When you have been forcibly displaced from your home, the revolutionary dream of what should...
Fireweather
$29.99
Miranda Darling
Fireweather
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 STELLA PRIZE It all began when they started running away ....
Ankami by Debra Dank - 9781760687410
$32.99
Debra Dank
Ankami
'Be careful what you wish for,' wrote Aesop, 'lest it come true.' Debra Dank had...
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