- Jenny Ackland - Little Gods
- Enza Gandolfo - The Bridge
- Jamie Marina Lau - Pink Mountain on Locust Island
- Vicki Laveau-Harvie - The Erratics
- Melissa Lucashenko - Too Much Lip
- Maria Tumarkin - Axiomatic
The chair of the judging panel, Louise Swinn, said this of the shortlist:
“The six finalists on the 2019 Stella Prize shortlist explode the myth of the death of the book, and they are a hearty response to the under-representation of women’s work in awards. This is an incredibly diverse knot of books, with broad subjects showing that identity is shaped across many continents and informed by many cultures. Non-fiction and fiction works stray from their formal constraints as authors give authentic voices to those who are otherwise under-represented. The books on this shortlist inform and entertain, and while they speak absolutely to our moment, their insights are timeless."I was surprised to see the two longlisted titles I have read - Bri Lee's Eggshell Skull and Chloe Hooper's The Arsonist - were bumped. Both were incredible books that have been lauded and awarded in many other awards programs. So these shortlisters had better be good!
For more information about the shortlisted titles, see my post on the Stella Prize longlist.
The winner will be revealed on 9 April 2019. Happy reading!