Emily Bitto wins the 2015 Stella Prize
The winner of the Stella Prize 2015 is The Strays by Emily Bitto! Inspired by aspects of the legacy of the renowned Heide group of artists and writer, the novel is an engrossing story of ambition, sacrifice and compromised loyalties.
Kerryn Goldsworthy, chair of the 2015 Stella Prize judging panel says:
“(The Strays) is both moving and sophisticated; both well researched and original; both intellectually engaging and emotionally gripping… In its subject matter, its characters, and its sombre mood, this novel is reminiscent of Ian McEwen’s Atonement, Sybille Bedford’s Jigsaw: An Unsentimental Education or A.S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book, and in this company it can hold its head high.”
Read our interview with Bitto here.
As the winner, Bitto will receive $50,000 in prize money. In addition, the five shortlisted authors (Maxine Beneba Clarke, Christine Kenneally, Sofie Laguna, Joan London and Ellen van Neerven) will receive $2000, courtesy of the Nelson Meers Foundation.
