Now and Then: Ten Years of Stella
Missed our online event celebrating ten years of Stella? Tune in here.
Dreams of the Stella Prize emerged in early 2011 out of a panel held at Readings on International Women’s Day. Now in its tenth year, the Stella Prize has become an indispensable part of Australia’s literary culture, driving book sales, sparking book clubs, and championing the careers of women and non-binary writers. Hear Stella co-founder Chris Gordon in conversation with Carrie Tiffany (winner of the inaugural Prize in 2013 for Mateship with Birds), Emily Bitto (winner of the 2015 Prize for The Strays), and Claire G. Coleman (shortlisted in 2018 for Terra Nullius) as they discuss Stella’s impact thus far, and what might be achieved over the next decade.
The poems read during this event are:
- Evelyn Araluen’s ‘Acknowledgement of Cuntery’ from her collection Dropbear (UQP, 2021)
- Sarah Holland-Batt’s ‘This Landscape Before Me’ from her collection The Hazards (UQP, 2015)
- Maria Takolander’s ‘Nox’ from her collection Trigger Warning (UQP, 2021)
- Ellen van Neerven’s ‘White Excellence’ from their collection Throat (UQP, 2020)
Emily Bitto’s, Claire G Coleman’s, and Carrie Tiffany’s books, as well as the collections mentioned above, can all be purchased via Readings.
Emily Bitto’s debut novel, The Strays, was the winner of the Stella Prize in 2015. Her second novel, Wild Abandon, will be published in October 2021 by Allen and Unwin. Emily has been teaching creative writing for over a decade, and is the co-owner of Melbourne wine bar Heartattack and Vine.
Claire G. Coleman is a Noongar woman who writes fiction, essays, poetry and art writing while either living in Naarm (Melbourne) or on the road. Her latest work is Lies, Damned Lies: A personal exploration of the impact of colonisation.
Carrie Tiffany was born in West Yorkshire and grew up in Western Australia. She spent her early twenties working as a park ranger in Central Australia and now lives in Melbourne. She is the author of three acclaimed novels: Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living, Mateship with Birds and Exploded View.
Chris Gordon is the Programming Manager for Readings. She sits on the board of the Emerging Writers’ Festival, the Victorian Women’s Trust and the Readings Foundation. She was a founding member of the Stella Prize. She lives in Melbourne surrounded by family, friends and books.
