Interview: Benjamin Law – 2026 Stella Prize Judge
An interview with author and broadcaster, Benjamin Law.
What role do you believe literary awards like the Stella Prize play in sparking conversations and shaping the literary canon?
As a writer and a former bookseller, it’s obvious to me how much Stella has changed the book industry in this country. Australian readers have always voraciously read the word of writers who aren’t men. Yet, the way men dominated – often, monopolised – literary accolades was simply considered the norm for most of my adult life. Stella’s turned the dial for women and non-binary authors, in terms of how we understand literary merit. Readers are the winners in all of this.
How will you prepare yourself to read a large volume of work fairly and thoroughly over the judging period?
Look, I already accept I will be surgically attached to a book during all waking hours for several months. It won’t be a hardship.
Stella’s turned the dial for women and non-binary authors, in terms of how we understand literary merit.
What is a book by a woman or non-binary writer that you’d recommend to others?
Can I name several? Obviously, Michelle de Kretser’s Stella Prize-winning Theory and Practice. This was the first book I read in 2025, and I still can’t stop thinking about it. I recently finished Jessie Tu’s The Honeyeater and thought it slapped hard. Two Australian graphic novels – both total knockouts – are Sarah Firth’s Everything Eventually Connects and Rachel Ang’s I Ate The Whole World to Find You. I’m still floored by Yael van der Wouden’s Women’s Prize-winning The Safe Keep. And I’m a massive Torrey Peters stan. Detransition, Baby is such a thrilling scream of a book, and her follow-up short story collection Stag Dance is staggeringly great; like nothing else I’ve read.
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