The longlist for this year’s Stella Prize has been announced. This $50,000 prize is awarded for the best work of literature, fiction or non-fiction, published in 2015 by an Australian woman.

The twelve longlisted books are:

• A Few Days in the Country by Elizabeth Harrower
• A Guide to Berlin by Gail Jones (Read our review)
• A Short History of Richard Kline by Amanda Lohrey (Read our review)
• Anchor Point by Alice Robinson (Read our review)
• Hope Farm by Peggy Frew (Read our review)
• Panthers and the Museum of Fire by Jen Craig
• Six Bedrooms by Tegan Bennett Daylight (Read our review)
• Small Acts of Disappearance by Fiona Wright (Read our review)
• The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood (Read our review)
• The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop (Read our review)
• The Women’s Pages by Debra Adelaide (Read our review)
• The World Without Us by Mireille Juchau

Chair of the Stella Prize judging panel, Brenda Walker, says: ‘The longlist for the 2016 Stella Prize demonstrates the current strength of Australian women’s narrative, featuring both highly accomplished new writers and many works that represent a culmination of the skills of established writers.’

Previous winners of the Stella Prize include Carrie Tiffany for Mateship with Birds (2013), Clare Wright for The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka (2014), and Emily Bitto for The Strays (2015).

The shortlist will be announced in March, and the winner will be announced in May. Find out more about the Prize and this year’s longlisted books (including the full judge’s report) here.