In response to the seemingly endless parade of male writers shortlisted and winning Australian literary prizes, in 2013 a new paradigm was born – the Stella Prize, Australia’s first prize to reward a woman writer for the best book of the year.
Ironically, since the formation of the Stella Prize, women have scooped the majority of Australian literary awards. Anna Funder, Gillian Mears and Michelle de Kretser have dominated winner’s podiums with their books All That I Am, Foal’s Bread and Questions of Travel. This year’s shortlisted authors are Hannah Kent, Anna Krien, Fiona McFarlane, Kristina Olsson, Alexis Wright and Clare Wright.
Following the 2014 Stella Prize announcement, last year’s inaugural winner Carrie Tiffany and Stella Prize co-founder Aviva Tuffield will be joined by this year’s winner –now revealed as Clare Wright – to question whether the award has provoked a fundamental change in how women writers are viewed, or if gender bias is as virulent as ever.
A good event starts great conversations. Here’s your chance to stay back a while and meet the speakers. Nibbles provided. Drinks available for purchase.
The final half hour of the published event time is set aside for informal conversation and drinks.
Featuring
Aviva Tuffield
Aviva Tuffield is a publisher at University of Queensland Press. She has worked in publishing for almost 20 years, mainly as an editor. She was previously a publisher at Black Inc., at Affirm Press, and associate publisher at Scribe Publications, where she was responsible for building an Australian fiction list.
Before that, she was Deputy Editor at Australian Book Review. She was the co-founder and inaugural executive director of the Stella Prize.
Clare Wright
Professor Clare Wright OAM is an award-winning historian, author, broadcaster, podcaster and public commentator who has worked in politics, academia and the media.
Clare ...
Carrie Tiffany
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. Her first novel, Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living (2005), was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Guardian First Book Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and won the Dobbie Award and the WA Premier’s Award for Fiction.
Mateship with Birds (2011) was also shortlisted for many awards and won the inaugural Stella Prize and the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. She lives and works in Melbourne.