The Stella Prize has announced its 2027 Stella Prize judging panel, with entries for the annual literary prize accepted from 27 July until 5 October, and the winner announced in May 2027.
Stella Prize judges & dates – quick links
Stella Prize 2027 judges
Chair of Judges – Beejay Silcox
Beejay Silcox is a book critic. Her work appears in high-profile publications across three continents, and is celebrated for its resolute – some might say foolhardy – honesty. She has been described as ‘the most significant new Australian critic in decades’.
Beyond the page, she is a literary polymath: interviewer, manuscript doctor, festival programmer, and award-winning creative writing educator. Beejay has stories to tell; she eloped to Las Vegas, escaped quicksand, and was once rescued from a picnic at Hanging Rock. Beejay is making her joyful return to Stella judging after chairing the prize in 2024.
Tim Jarvis
Tim Jarvis is the director of Fullers Bookshop in Hobart, where he has been a bookseller for more than a decade. He is an inaugural member of the Writing Australia Council, and also serves on the board of the Australian Booksellers Association.
Michaela Kalowski
Michaela Kalowski is an interviewer, moderator & curator for writers and ideas festivals. Highlight interviews include Margaret Atwood, Tim Winton, Zadie Smith, Mieko Kawakami & Stan Grant. For five years she curated Big Weekend of Books, ABC RN’s annual on-air writers festival. She’s presented programs and conducted interviews across ABC Radio & TV.
Hannah Kent
Hannah Kent’s debut novel, the international bestseller Burial Rites, was translated into over 30 languages, and her novels The Good People and Devotion are being adapted for film. Her latest book is the memoir Always Home, Always Homesick. She lives and works on Peramangk and Kaurna Country.
ArtsHub: Cannon by Lee Lai lingers as a quiet and powerful work
Jasmin McGaughey
Jasmin is a Torres Strait Islander and African American writer and editor. She is the author of Ash Barty’s collection of children’s books (illustrated by Jade Goodwin) and Mary Fowler’s children’s books (illustrated by Cate James). Jasmin is a black&write! editor alum, and has written for Overland, Kill Your Darlings, SBS Voices and Griffith Review and co-edited Words to Sing the World Alive. Her debut YA book, Moonlight and Dust, was shortlisted for the 2025 VPLAs.
About the Stella Prize
The Stella Prize is a major literary award celebrating Australian women’s writing. The $60,000 prize is awarded annually to one outstanding book deemed to be original, excellent and engaging.
The 2027 Prize is open to books by Australian women and non-binary writers, including books of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Books entered in the 2027 Stella Prize must be first published between 1 January and 31 December 2026.
For the first time, The Stella Prize 2027 Longlist will feature 16 books. In the Prize’s 15th year, this expansion of the longlist will enable more books by women and non-binary writers to be awarded and exposed to new readers. Longlisted authors will receive $2000 each, and shortlisted titles awarded a $5000 prize.
Stella Prize: previous winners
2013 – Carrie Tiffany: Mateship with Birds
2014 – Clare Wright: The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka
2015 – Emily Bitto: The Strays
2016 – Charlotte Wood: The Natural Way of Things
2017 – Heather Rose: The Museum of Modern Love
2018 – Alexis Wright: Tracker
2019 – Vicki Laveau-Harvie: The Erratics
2020 – Jess Hill: See What You Made Me Do
2021 – Evie Wyld: The Bass Rock
2022 – Evelyn Araluen: Dropbear
2023 – Sarah Holland-Batt: The Jaguar
2024 – Alexis Wright: Praiseworthy
2025 – Michelle de Kretser: Theory & Practice
2026 – Lee Lai: Cannon
The 2026 Stella Prize saw record breaking response globally and nationally: with major PR campaigns and widespread coverage online and in print, with a tour spanning several Australian states from March to May.
2027 Stella Prize key dates
Longlist announcement: March 2027
Shortlist announcement: April 2027
Winner announcement: May 2027
