Now in it’s thirteenth year, The Stella Prize has announced its 2025 longlist.
Founded in 2012, the prize’s mission is to empower women and non-binary authors and to recognise and showcase their accomplishments in a world of gender inequality. With this year’s longlist featuring works ranging from poetry collections to archival history and LGBT+ romance, the winning book should be received by the judges as “original, excellent and engaging” and must be first published between January 1st 2024 and December 31st 2024.
The judging panel for 2025 is composed of Astrid Edwards (chair), Debra Dank, Leah Jing McIntosh, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, and Rick Morton.
Each year Stella Prize entries undergo a meticulous selection process in order to produce a longlist of just 12 exceptional works. For the 2025 prize, more than 180 entries were submitted.
Chair Astrid Edwards said:
“Literary prizes are subjective beasts, but I assure you, the works on this year’s longlist are remarkable.”
“To the writers on the longlist, thank you. The time and skill required to weave together story is too often unregarded. Your words are beautiful, and they will stay with me.”
The following 12 have made it to the longlist, and their authors will receive $1000 from the Copyright Agency.:
- A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle (fiction)
- Always Will Be by Mykaela Saunders (fiction)
- Black Convicts by Santilla Chingaipe (non-fiction)
- Black Witness by Amy McQuire (non-fiction)
- The Burrow by Melanie Cheng (fiction)
- Cactus Pear For My Beloved by Samah Sabawi (non-fiction)
- Naag Mountain by Manisha Anjali (poetry)
- Peripathetic by Cher Tan (non-fiction)
- Rapture by Emily Maguire (fiction)
- Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser (fiction)
- The Thinning by Inga Simpson (fiction)
- Translations by Jumaana Abdu (fiction)
This impressive list will soon be reduced down to 6, with the shortlist announced on April 8th 2025. The overall winner of the competition will be announced on May 23rd 2025, receiveing $60,000 in prize money.
For more information regarding The Stella Prize and the longlisted works, head to their website HERE.
