2026 Stella Prize

Eligibility and Entry Conditions

Early-bird entries to the 2026 Stella Prize are now open.

The Stella Prize is administered by The Stella Prize Inc. It is funded by the Stella Forever Fund which has been endowed by Stella’s many generous supporters.

The winner of the Prize will be awarded $60,000. Shortlisted authors will each receive $5,000 and longlisted authors will each receive $2,000.

Entry Periods

Early-bird entries

Early-bird entries are accepted from 9am AEST Monday 28 July until 5pm AEST Sunday 24 August 2025. A discounted entry fee of $73 (incl. GST) applies.

General entries

General entries are accepted from 10am AEST Monday 25 August until 5pm AEST Sunday 5 October 2025. A general entry fee of $94 (incl GST) applies.

Late entries

Stella accepts books published between 1 January and 31 December 2025, however entries must be submitted before the close of general entries on 5 October 2025. Please upload a media release about the book with your entry if the final digital file is not yet available. Final electronic files must be received before 5pm 14 November 2025.

Prize Announcements

The key Prize announcement dates are:

Longlist               March 2026
Shortlist              April 2026
Winner                May 2026

Eligibility

The Stella Prize (“the Prize”) is the flagship program of the Stella Prize Incorporated (“Stella”). The Prize is a major literary award that celebrates and promotes Australian women’s contribution to literature.

1. Entry is open to women and non-binary writers who identify with the Prize’s purpose to promote Australian women’s writing, in ways that align with the writer’s own gender identity. This includes cis women, trans women and non-binary people.
2. Authors must be Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia at the time of entry. Entries will be accepted from Australian citizens living outside Australia.
3. Books must have been first professionally published in English by a commercial publishing house anywhere in the world between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025. Publication in another language before this period will not affect eligibility for entry to the Prize.
4. Books eligible for the Prize are:
   
   • Fiction, including novels of all genres, novellas of at least 20,000 words, verse novels, single-author short story collections
   • Non-fiction, including memoirs, biographies and histories
   • Poetry, which must be single-author collections of at least 40 pages, and
   • Graphic novels, which must contain substantial quantity of text.
5. Books not eligible for the Prize are:
   
   • academic textbooks
   • guidebooks
   • self-help books
   • anthologies
   • play or film scripts
   • books written primarily for children under 12
   • books consisting of illustrations or photographs with an insubstantial quantity of text
   • adaptations, unless they represent a significant and creative transformation of the original text
   • self-published books, including do-it yourself, assisted self-publishing and hybrid publishing
   • books published only in eBook or audiobook form
   • books written by current Board members or employees of The Stella Prize Inc.
6. Co-authored books are eligible, but edited collections are not. Books cannot be entered in the name of an editor or a committee. If graphic novels are authored and illustrated by more than one creator, all creators will be considered to be authors. All authors must meet Eligibility Guidelines 1 and 2. Prize money will be shared equally between co-authors, unless all authors agree otherwise in writing.
7. Books must be written in English. Bilingual editions, where one of the languages is English are eligible. English translations that are first published in English during the eligibility period are eligible, regardless of when the original language book was first published.
8. Books are not eligible if a significant proportion or the work has been previously published in book form. Material that has previously been part published only in anthologies or literary journals is deemed to be new. Publishers are responsible for identifying all previously published material at the time of entry.
9. Books containing plagiarism are not eligible. By entering a book, the publisher and author consent to Stella using a plagiarism detector.
10. Stella’s management will determine any dispute as to eligibility. If an author is dissatisfied with their decision, the matter will be reviewed by the Chair of Stella’s Board, whose decision will be final.

Submission Requirements

11. Entries to the Prize may be submitted by publishing houses, literary agents and published authors (“Entrants”). Only one book may be included in each entry.
12. Entries to the Prize are accepted as digital files only. However, Stella will accept hardcopies of entries that we agree are better read in this format due to layout or structure. Please email info@stella.org.au to seek our agreement.

    Entries must be submitted via the online entry form, with books uploaded as a valid ePub file or PDF. Entrants are responsible for ensuring that book files are properly formatted and rendered correctly across platforms. Please do not use a proprietary DRM solution or watermark across text as it may adversely affect the reading experience.

    Upon entry, files will be moved to a restricted folder accessible only to the Judging Panel and Stella staff. Files will not be shared with any outside parties.

    Entrants are responsible for ensuring that hardcopies are not dispatched unless requested by Stella. Stella is not responsible for the return of books shipped to any premises.

13. Incomplete books or entries that do not meet the submission deadlines will be deemed ineligible.
14. Upon submission, Entrants will be automatically notified that the entry has been received. Stella will individually notify Entrants of longlisted entries. You will not be notified if your entry has not been longlisted.

Judging

15. Stella appoints a Judging Panel of five professionals from the arts community. They are selected for their varied experience as writers, readers, critics, booksellers, editors, and/or literary programmers.
16. The Judging Panel is responsible for selecting a longlist of twelve books, a shortlist of six books, and the winner of the Prize.
17. The Judging Panel will select the book they believe to be the most original, excellent, and engaging as the winner.
18. The Judging Panel will make their selections based on literary merit without personal prejudice or preference. Stella identifies, assesses, and manages potential conflicts in relation to entries each year to protect the integrity and reputation of Stella, its appointed Judges, staff and Board members in accordance with its conflicts of interest policy.
19. The Judging Panel may, at their discretion, call in books that have not been entered that they believe to be worthy of consideration for the Prize and which meet the Eligibility Guidelines. This does not guarantee success. The publisher, literary agent or author of any book that is called in must complete the online entry form, pay the entry fee and comply with the Entry Conditions.
20. The Judging Panel will not discuss or divulge the identity of books entered to the Prize, their deliberations and discussions or the judging process with anyone other than other members of the Judging Panel and Stella staff.

Entry Conditions

21. Stella welcomes all entries submitted in good faith. Stella reserves the right to refuse entries submitted with malice or with the intent to mislead or deceive others, or which otherwise may harm Stella’s reputation. All decisions of the Judging Panel and Stella are final.
22. All entries are strictly confidential. The fact of entry may not be used to publicise an author at any time, unless the author has been included in the longlist or shortlist or chosen as the winner.
23. Entry into the Prize confirms that, if they are longlisted, shortlisted or selected as the Prize winner, the author agrees to:
    
    1. accept the source of the funds awarded to them (the Entrant and author are responsible for familiarising themselves with Stella’s Funding Sources, Sponsorship, and Partnerships Policy)
    2. permit Stella to publish their name, image and biographical information on its website and all forms of media
    3. permit excerpts of their book to be used in materials for the Prize announcement, promotional events, marketing and media
    4. sign books and/or bookplates provided by Stella
    5. attend the longlist, shortlist and prize award events, if feasible, and
    6. attend and participate in a reasonable number of public and media events including interviews, readings and appearances (both in-person and remotely) at the time of and in the months following the Prize shortlist and winner announcements, if feasible.
24. Stella will ensure that authors will not be out of pocket for travel, accommodation and other expenses incurred in promoting their book and the Prize. Publishers are expected to reasonably contribute towards these expenses.
25. Entrants agree to:
    
    1. sticker longlisted, shortlisted and winning books (including reprints) with Prize insignia supplied by Stella
    2. supply and deliver 40 print copies of longlisted books for promotional and administrative purposes
    3. supply and deliver an additional 30 copies of shortlisted books
    4. supply and deliver a further 20 signed copies of the winning book, and
    5. contribute the following amount towards marketing the longlisted, shortlisted and winning books:
       
       1. Books published by publishers employing 1-5 staff               $750
       2. Books published by publishers employing 6-20 staff             $1,000
       3. Books published by publishers employing >20 staff              $2,000

Stella reserves the right to review and change the Entry Periods and the Eligibility and Entry Conditions as necessary.