Evelyn Araluen Shortlisted for Stella Prize Again
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Evelyn Araluen was shortlisted for the 2026 Stella Prize for her second poetry collection The Rot, four years after she became the first poet to win the prize for Australian women and non‑binary writers.
- The Rot was inspired by a 2024 Adelaide Writers’ Week incident where Araluen was heckled for calling Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza a genocide, and it documents grief, solidarity, and “doomscrolling”.
- Evelyn Araluen won $125,000 and the top prize at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for The Rot in February, recognizing its “panicked, distressed window of a time”.
- The Stella prize shortlist, selected from 212 entries, includes five other works: Geraldine Brooks’ memoir Memorial Days, Miranda Darling’s novel Fireweather, Lee Lai’s graphic novel Cannon, Marika Sosnowski’s nonfiction 58 Facets: On Violence and the Law, and Tasma Walton’s novel I Am Nannertgarrook.
- Each shortlisted author receives $5,000 in prize money.
- Sophie Gee, chair of the Stella prize judges, said the six books “reflect the creative vitality, literary rigor, and expressive richness of Australian women’s and non‑binary writing”.
Why it matters: Being shortlisted brings Evelyn Araluen and the other five authors $5,000 each and heightened national attention, reinforcing the Stella prize’s role in amplifying Australian women’s and non‑binary writers. The recognition also underscores the prize’s commitment to diverse, socially engaged literature, potentially influencing publishing priorities.
Ask SkimNews
