It is a privilege to stand before you as Chair of Judges.

Literary judging is subjective. What brings joy to one reader may raise the hackles of another.

The criteria for The Stella are simple. Judges are asked to find the book we deem to be the most original, excellent, and engaging published in a given calendar year.

But of course, it is not so simple.

Uniquely among literary prizes, fiction and non-fiction, poetry and graphic works are all welcome in The Stella, and we judges read 180 of them.

But literary judging is more than just reading a lot of books.

Writers are among our best thinkers, and they grapple with the hardest questions we have. Reading so many books published at the same time means one confronts the zeitgeist. Love. Hate. Bigotry. War. Pain. Joy.

We – Yassmin, Debra, Leah, Rick and I – chose the shortlisted writers for this national prize because their works speak to who we were, who we are today and who we might become. Each of these shortlisted works speaks to the others.

Thank you, Amy. Black Witness is now written into the record. It is a challenge to mainstream media, and it will change mainstream media.

Thank you, Jumaana. In Translations, you have peopled Australian literature with new characters, new stories and new loves.

Thank you, Melanie. You took us to places we don’t often go in The Burrow, and we are all the richer – and a little more forgiving – for it.

Thank you, Michelle. Your experiment with form in Theory & Practice paves new ground for fiction of all forms.

Thank you, Samah. In Cactus Pear For My Beloved you share your father’s life in Palestine in the twentieth century. That world no longer exists, but it matters, so much, today.

Thank you, Santilla. In Black Convicts you brought to life not only the archives, but part of our collective history, born of slavery, that we did not even know was there.

Please join me in celebrating our 2025 shortlist.

And now, to the business of the night, announcing the most original, excellent, and engaging work published in Australia in 2024 and eligible for this year’s Stella Prize.

The winner of The Stella Prize 2025 is Michelle de Kretser for Theory & Practice.

As you know, Michelle is not here tonight. Michael Heyward, her publisher at Text Publishing, will accept the award on her behalf.

Given the weight of the occasion, Michelle has chosen to record her acceptance speech. It is 9 minutes long. After we play her speech, Michelle will join us live from the UK for a discussion with my fellow judge, Rick Morton.

Michelle, it is the honour of my literary life to congratulate you on Theory & Practice.