Announcing the winner of the 2020 Stella Prize:
Jess Hill for See What You Made Me Do
14 April 2020
The Stella Prize judges are delighted to announce that the winner of the 2020 Stella Prize is Jess Hill for her four-year investigation into domestic abuse, See What You Made Me Do.
Louise Swinn, Chair of the 2020 Stella Judging panel, says of the winning book:
"Jess Hill is a journalist whose clarity of expression and thought are of the highest order. What she has done with her incredibly powerful book, See What You Made Me Do, is meticulously dismantle all of the lazy old lies we associate with domestic abuse. In scrutinising both cause and response from every angle, Hill addresses each question head-on – even the most challenging aspects. Using forensic investigation, and highlighting personal stories, this book does much more than draw attention to this crisis – it offers solutions for reform. The statistics are utterly horrifying, and Hill's extraordinary call to action cannot be ignored."
Read the full judges' report here.
Read Louise Swinn's speech announcing the winner here.
Jess Hill has been writing about domestic violence since 2014, her reporting on domestic violence has won two Walkley awards, an Amnesty International award and three Our Watch awards.
On winning the 2020 Stella Prize, Jess Hill says:
"To be honoured by a prize that operates with the highest integrity is such a thrill. I feel like I've been initiated into a circle of writers at the height of their craft, and for that I am just so grateful. My hope is that the Stella Prize will get more international publishers interested, and that people who never thought they'd read a book about domestic abuse will be persuaded to pick it up. To these future readers, I want to say: you won't regret it. This book has taught me so much about life, love and power – it is not a book about other people, it is a book about all of us, and the world we live in. To all the victim-survivors out there, I hope you feel that this is a win for you, too. I couldn't have written the book without your expertise and courage."
Read 'Jess Hill wins Stella Prize for See What You Made Me Do', by S Convery.
Read 'Jess Hill wins the Stella Prize for examination of domestic abuse' by J Steger.
LISTEN TO A COMPELLING INTERVIEW WITH JESS HILL 30 October 2020
Investigative journalist Jess Hill has been reporting on domestic abuse in Australia for more than six years and has become Australia's leading voice advocating for systemic and policy change, including the criminalisation of coercive control. Her reporting has won two Walkley Awards, an Amnesty International Award and three Our Watch Awards.
Since winning the 2020 Stella Prize in April, See What You Made Me Do has been published in the UK and US, with Jess undertaking further research and reporting to contextualise the work for international readers and policymakers. The book is now being adapted into a 3-part series by Northern Pictures for SBS, and due to air next year. Jess is also working on an audio documentary series on intimate partner violence with the Victoria Women's Trust.
Hosted by fellow Stella Prize-winning author, Clare Wright, this conversation also offers insight into the impact of the Stella Prize on an author's career and the challenges facing Australian women writers in 2020 and beyond.