The Stella Prize is a major literary award celebrating Australian women’s writing (both non-fiction and fiction). The prize is named after one of Australia’s iconic female authors, Stella Maria ‘Miles’ Franklin, and was awarded for the first time in 2013. The Stella Prize seeks to recognise and celebrate Australian women writers’ contribution to literature; bring more readers to books by women and thus increase their sales; and provide role models for schoolgirls and emerging female writers. The Nelson Meers Foundation provided funding to The Stella Prize in 2014 and 2015 to permit the shortlisted authors to also receive financial acknowledgement.

The SPSP is a crucial component of Stella’s work to achieve equal representation for Australian women writers, and a step towards a more inclusive Australian identity.  Prize money such as this secures a writer a small measure of financial independence, which gives them time – that most undervalued yet necessary commodity for women – to focus on their writing. Storytelling is an essential part of our national identity, and we believe in giving in Australian writers more opportunities to tell our stories.