The Stella Prize winner was announced this week with the award going to Alexis Wright for her biography of Tracker Tilmouth, titled Tracker.Tracker Tilmouth was an Aboriginal leader and entrepreneur who died in 2015 at 62 years of age. Part of the Stolen Generation, Tilmouth was raised on a mission on Croker Island, and went on to become a well regarded activist who established the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Council. Wright was a family friend, who set out to write his memoir by talking with those who new him.
At the presentation ceremony on 12 April 2018, the Chair of the Stella Prize judging panel, Fiona Stager said:
In awarding the 2018 Stella Prize to Alexis Wright for Tracker, the judges wish to acknowledge the craft of the author and pay tribute to the richness of the memories shared by the many people she interviewed. This book will enrich and change the understanding of readers. A man like Tracker Tilmouth could change our world. It takes a writer like Alexis Wright to change the world of Australian letters.Sounds like a fascinating depiction of an extraordinary man.
Alexis Wright is writer of both fiction and non-fiction. She is possibly best known for her novel Carpenteria (2006) which was lauded by critics and received the 2007 Miles Franklin Award, Queensland Premier's Literary Award and numerous other commendations.