Stella Prize Shortlist 2022

The 2022 Stella Prize Shortlist has been announced! The twelve nominees have been whittled down to six finalists in the running for this important literary award.

The 2022 shortlist is as follows:

• Evelyn Arluen - Drop Bear
• Eunice Andrada - Take Care
• Jennifer Down - Bodies of Light
• Lee Lai - Stone Fruit
• Elfie Shiosaki - Homecoming
• Anwen Crawford - No Document

In compiling this shortlist, the chair of the judging panel, Melissa Lucashenko says:

“The 2022 Stella Prize shortlist is big on emerging voices writing in unconventional ways - from regions, positions and literary forms that transcend the mainstream. These authors are writing back, insisting that 'other' lives - First Nations lives, poor women's lives, queer lives and Filipina lives - matter on the page, just as they do in everyday affairs.” 

For more information about these titles, see my post on the longlist.

The winner will be announced on 28 April 2022. I haven't read any of these books, but I will be seeing Jennifer Down at the upcoming Sydney Writer's Festival so that book is at the top of my list. 

The Colour and The Shape

On 24 January 2000 my brother Mark and I saw the Foo Fighters on their 'There is Nothing Left to Lose' tour at the Metro theatre in Sydney. The Metro is a great venue for gigs, small enough that fans can get up close to the stage, and large enough to enjoy the atmosphere of a like-minded crowd. Mark and I would rush down to the stage front to thrash and head-bang to our favourite songs, then retreat to the back to catch our breath, before lunging into the crowd once more. It was an awesome concert, solidifying my love of the Foo Fighters, and creating a memory of an incredible shared experience with my brother.

It was no surprise then, that Mark gave me Dave Grohl's The Storyteller (2021) for Christmas - a perfect gift. Subtitled 'Tales of Life and Music' Grohl tells stories about his lifelong passion for music from his childhood, through to his days with Scream, Nirvana, the Foo Fighters and Them Crooked Vultures. 

To enhance my reading experience, I downloaded the audiobook so Grohl could tell his stories in his own voice as I read along. His storytelling was rich and warm, adding a depth to the words on the page. It also made him seem more personable and familiar, like an old friend sharing stories.

The Storyteller is a fascinating book.  Grohl shared anecdotes about aspects of his life, tales from tours and recording studios, but never resorts to gossip. This is not a behind-the-scenes, tell-all. Rather, it is a collection of vignettes from a most extraordinary life, told with humour, empathy, humility and intelligence. 

For me, The Storyteller, instantly threw me back to my past. The music Grohl loved and the bands he toured with, was the soundtrack of my life. I spent much of the nineties attending Lollapalooza and various other gigs and festivals, attending live music events wherever I could - Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rage Against the Machine and on and on... It was such an incredible period in music.

In one chapter he recalls a tour with Scream in June 1990 which included 'two of my favourite cities on earth, Montreal and Toronto' and describes how much he loves travelling in Canada. As a Canadian, I beamed with pride reading his thoughts on my homeland: 'Because, let's face it, Canadians are fucking awesome. Laid-back, genuine, and funny as all hell. I defy anyone to walk one city block without making a fast friend in Canada' (p99). True!

What comes through in the book is how deep Grohl's love of music is. Of course, he is an incredible artist, but beyond that he is a mega fan. He shared memories of collaborations and experiences with Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, Joan Jett, AC/DC and many other legends he has shared a stage or studio with - a who's-who of music in the past thirty years. He shares many moments where he cannot believe he is in the presence of a legendary musician for whom he has such admiration. 

But beyond music is family. Grohl talks with great pride about being a father to his three daughters. He is incredibly close with his ever-supportive mother, who keeps him grounded. He has deep friendships, many from childhood, and he values these relationships tightly.  It is his family and friends that have kept him humble and down-to-earth.

You don't have to be a fan of Dave Grohl's music to enjoy The Storyteller, but I would defy anyone to come away from reading this book without becoming a fan of the man himself. 

ADDENDUM

A few hours after I posted this review, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins died in Bogata Columbia, where the band was touring. Hawkins, age 50, had been with the band for 25 years. In The Storyteller, Dave Grohl describes Hawkins as 'my brother from another mother, my best friend, a man for whom I would take a bullet'. They were 'an unstoppable duo, onstage and off, in pursuit of any and all adventure we can find'. My heart breaks for Dave, the band, and the Hawkins family. He was a remarkable talent.

A League of Her Own

The League of Nations was founded in 1920 following the Paris Peace Conference at the end of the First World War.  Based in Geneva, the League aimed to prevent wars through disarmament, resolution of disputes between nations and collective security. Despite its promise, The League of Nations was ultimately ineffective, failing to prevent several conflicts, including the second World War. It was replaced in the 1940s by the United Nations. I hadn't given much thought to the League since my undergraduate days, but memories of my studies came flooding back as I read Frank Moorhouse's remarkable novel Grand Days (1993). 

In this fictional account of the League's early years, plucky young Australian Edith Campbell Berry travels to Geneva to take up a role in the newly established organisation. On the train from Paris she meet Major Ambrose Westwood, a British officer at the League. Their flirtation over dinner is the start of a fascinating relationship. Edith is determined to live according to her morals and has created a list of rules to live by which guide her behaviour (such as the 'Way of Companionable Confession' in which one tells a minor confession to someone in order to bring them into closer confidence). Over time Ambrose challenges her thinking by introducing her to 'Weimar' experiences like underground night clubs, which expose Edith to other ways of being. 

Edith is an idealist who has tremendous faith in the League's ability to bring about world peace. Throughout the novel she mixes and mingles with characters both fictional and real. She works closely with Sir Eric Drummond, Secretary-General (1919-1922), was mentored by John Latham (Australian politician), had her image drawn by Hungarian caricaturist Emery Kelen, and has an opportunity to hear a lecture by birth control advocate Margaret Sanger. This blending of fact and fiction brings the story to life and is a testament to Moorhouse's extensive research. 

Edith's commitment to her organisation extends to her designing of uniforms for League staff, and creating stationary and document holders for meeting attendees - which promptly get stolen as keepsakes by delegates, much to her chagrin. But her commitment often blinds her to the League's failures, and Moorhouse does a great job of explaining how things work in this bumbling bureaucracy.

The novel has much wry humour, often in the form of witty dialogue, and Edith finds herself in some strangely comical predicaments. But Grand Days also has darkness as nationalism is on the rise in parts of Europe. Modern readers will find the racism and sexism of the 1920s confronting, but also concerning as these sentiments echo a hundred years later. 

Grand Days also follows Edith's sexual awakening. Her relationship with Ambrose challenges her traditional views. Impromptu encounters with a black jazz musician in Paris and a provocative woman spark her curiosity. She also experiences sexual violence when a club she visits is raided. These encounters allow the author, through Edith, to reflect on race, eugenics, sex and sexuality.

Moorhouse has crafted a coming of age story which shows the evolution of a woman, of Australia and of an international institution. It is quite remarkable how he has inserted Edith into real events to explore 1920s Europe. 

I greatly enjoyed reading Grand Days. At almost 700 pages it does take some commitment, but it is well worth the journey. I would recommend it to anyone interested in this fascinating time in history. Reading it against the backdrop of war once again in Europe, the failures of diplomacy, and the rise of nationalism, one wonders what Edith would think today. 

This book has been on my 'to be read' list since 2016 when I met Frank Moorhouse at the Sydney Writers Festival. During that session he was speaking about his admiration of George Eliot (also a favourite of mine) and how well Eliot would have got on with Edith. When he signed a copy of Grand Days for me we spoke about the trilogy and he said that people often just read the sequel Dark Palace, so he was pleased that I was starting at the beginning. He said he hoped I would enjoy it. Well, Frank, I certainly did. Thank you!

The Edith Trilogy consists of Grand Days (1993),  Miles Franklin Award Winner Dark Palace (2000) and Cold Light (2011). I am definitely intrigued to follow the adventures of Edith Campbell Berry and look forward to continuing this series. 

Women's Prize Longlist 2022

On International Women's Day the 2022 Women's Prize longlist has been announced! The annual literary award celebrating women writers has previously recognised the talents of so many gifted writers, including these past winners:

Susanna Clarke - Piranesi (2021)

Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet (2020)

Tayari Jones - An American Marriage (2019)

Lionel Shriver - We Need to Talk About Kevin (2005)

Andrea Levy - Small Island (2004)

On 8 March 2022, the longlist for this year's Women's Prize was revealed with 16 nominees. I have a handful of these books to read, and a couple of others on reserve from my local library. I look forward to exploring these titles. 

The 2022 longlist is as follows:

Lisa Allen-Agnostini - The Bread the Devil Knead 

Port of Spain boutique manager Althea Lopez is about to turn 40 and from outward appearances she seems fashionable and independent. But this is masking the domestic violence she faces at home. When she witnesses a woman murdered by her partner, she realises she needs to make a change or that could be her fate. Allen-Agnostini is a writer, editor and stand-up comedian from Trinidad and Tobago. This is her first novel for adults. 

Lulu Allison - Salt Lick

Britain's food production has moved overseas and the rural economy has collapsed. Towns and villages are abandoned as residents move to larger cities. Set in a near-future UK, this novel is not dystopian but perhaps speculative. Lulu Allison is a British visual artist. Her first novel was Twice the Speed of Dark. I am intrigued by this novel and will try and locate a copy. 

Kirsty Capes - Careless

A debut novel by Kirsty Capes who's recently completed her PhD under the supervision of author Bernadine Evaristo. In this coming-of-age story, fifteen-year-old Bess has just discovered she is pregnant to a nineteen-year-old. She is in foster care, with a patchy support system.  The novel explores issues of teen pregnancy, out of home care, generational trauma and the importance of friendship.

Catherine Chidgey - Remote Sympathy

Set during the Holocaust, Frau Greta Hahn leaves Munich to move to Buchenwald where her husband, SS Sturmbannfuhrer Dietrich Hahn, has taken up a position as the prison camp's administrator. Doctor Weber, an inventor. is married to Anna, a Jewish woman living in Frankfurt. Weber is transferred to the camp where he has to treat Frau Hahn. Catherine Chidgey is a writer from New Zealand. Her  previous novels include The Transformation (2003) and The Wish Child (2016).

Miranda Cowley Heller - The Paper Palace

Elle is a fifty-year-old married mother of three. At her family's summer home in Cape Cod, The Paper Palace, she wakes early and goes for a swim, The night before she and her childhood love Jonas snuck outside to have sex while their unknowing spouses chatted away. Will she stay with her husband or risk it all for Jonas? This is American author Heller's debut novel. (Update: Read Review)

Rachel Elliott - Flamingo

Two families live side-by-side: Sherry and Leslie with their two daughters; Eve with her son Daniel. They spend a lot of time together, friends as well as neighbours. Eventually Eve and Daniel move away and the relationship ends. Then one day an adult Daniel shows up at Sherry's door. Elliott's previous novel Whispers Through A Megaphone (2015) was previously long listed for the Women's Prize.

Louise Erdich - The Sentence

In Minneapolis, a small independent bookstore is haunted by Flora, the store's most annoying customer. Tookie attempts to solve the mystery of the haunting during a year of grief. Set from November 2019 to November 2020, the novel spans world events like the pandemic and the death of George Floyd. Erdrich won the Pulitzer Prize for her previous novel, The Night Watchman.  The Sentence has been recommended to me by friends and I am looking forward to reading it.

Violet Kupersmith - Build Your House Around My Body

In 1986 a young Vietnamese girl goes missing. 25 years later a Vietnamese-American women disappears from her home in Saigon. Both women will have their revenge. Spanning 50 years of Vietnamese history, this novel shows how the fates of these women are interlinked. This is Kupersmith's first novel. She has previously published a short story collection, The Frangipani Hotel. 

Meg Mason - Sorrow and Bliss

Martha believes there is something wrong with her.  Her husband Patrick thinks she is fine, she just needs to keep going, but she feels things are falling apart. This is a character-driven story about grappling with mental illness and how it impacts families and friends. New Zealander Mason is the author of Say it Again in a Nice Voice and You Be Mother. She now lives in Sydney.

Charlotte Mendelson - The Exhibitionist

Famous artist Ray Hanrahan is preparing for an exhibition of his art. His three children gather for a weekend prior to the exhibition. But what of his long-suffering wife, herself an artist. She has always put her husband and children first and is now seeking to change focus. This is a story of a dysfunctional family, personal freedom, art and sacrifice. British novelist Mendelson is the author of various titles including Daughters of Jerusalem, Almost English and When We Were Bad. I like the sound of this novel and will try and track it down. 

Ruth Ozeki - The Book of Form and Emptiness

When Benny's father dies, the teenager begins to hear voices he cannot fully understand. He tries to ignore them, but they follow him around. So he seeks refuge in the public library where the books teach him to listen to the things that matter. American author Ozeki was previously shortlisted for the Booker Prize for her novel A Tale for the Time Being. 

Leone Ross - This One Sky Day

On the archipelago of Popisho people are born with a magical power that manifests before they reach adulthood. One person can season food with his hands, another can diagnose disease by touch, each person is different. This imaginative novel of magical realism takes readers to a strange land where important subjects - like love, grief, sexism, infidelity, colonialism and more - can be explored. British author Ross is best known for her previous novels All the Blood is Red and Orange Laughter.

Elif Shafak - The Island of Missing Trees

Two teens meet in Cyprus in 1974 a a tavern to listen to music, eat good food, and forget about the world outside. One is Greek, the other Turkish, so they must love in secret. A fig tree grows through a cavity in the tavern roof. Decades later in London, A sixteen year old girl has never visited her parents' homeland but she has a fig tree growing in her back yard. Greece is near the top of my travel wish list and I love the idea of a novel about homelands, so this has been added to my list. Shafak was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for her novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. 

Maggie Shipstead - Great Circle 

In prohibition era Montana, teenage Marian drops out of school and finds a patron who will support her desire to become a pilot. As a daredevil aviatrix, she circumnavigates the world and flies over the poles. A century later, actress Hadley Baxter is set to play Marian in a biopic and becomes immersed in the pilot's disappearance in Antarctica. Shipstead is the author of Astonish Me and Seating Arrangements. I have had this book on my 'To Be Read' pile since it was Longlisted for the Booker Prize last year.  

Dawnie Walton - The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

This is the story of an iconic interracial rock duo and their dramatic rise and fall. Opal is a fiercely independent Afro-punk woman from Detroit. Nev is a British singer/songwriter. Together they make music in 1970s New York. Decades later they consider a reunion and a music journalist seeks to curate an oral history of the pair. This is American author Walton's debut novel.

Morowa Yejide - Creatures of Passage

In Washington DC, Nephthys drives a haunted car, battles with alcoholism and mourns the loss of her twin brother Osiris. Her estranged nephew Dash is drawn to the river where Osiris died, and has concversations with someone he calls 'River Man'. This is a story of grief, ghosts, and family ties. Yejide is the author of Time of the Locus. Creatures of Passage is her second novel. 

I have not read any of these titles yet, and haven't heard of many.  I have copies of Great Circle and The Sentence  on my bedside table ready to read. I am keen to track down the works by Elif Shafak and Charlotte Mendelson, and potentially Allen-Agnostini. 

I was surprised that Sarah Winman's Still Life, Rachel Cusk's Second Place and Nadifa Mohamed's The Fortune Men did not make the cut. I had also hoped that two Australian authors would have made the list -  Hannah Kent for Devotion and Emily Maguire for Love Objects. It was nice to see four debut authors gain exposure for their work by these nominations.

If I had to pick a shortlist, I would bet on Erdrich, Shafak, Ross, and Shipstead to be among those listed. The shortlist will be announced on 27 April 2022 and the winner will be revealed on 15 June 2022. Happy reading!

Stella Prize Longlist 2022

The 2022 Stella Prize longlist has been announced! The annual literary award celebrating women and non-binary writers of both fiction and non-fiction is named after Australian author Stella Miles Franklin. Past winners include:

Evie Wyld for The Bass Rock (2021)

Jess Hill for See What You Made Me Do (2020)

Vicki Laveau-Harvie for The Erratics (2019)

Alexis Wright for Tracker (2018)

Heather Rose for The Museum of Modern Love (2017)

Charlotte Wood for The Natural Way of Things (2016)

Emily Bitto for The Strays (2015)

Claire Wright for The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka (2014)

Carrie Tiffany for Mateship with Birds (2013)

I credit the Stella Prize with introducing me to many authors that I would not have otherwise read.

On 2 March 2022, the longlist for this year's Stella Prize was announced with 12 nominees. I have not read any of the titles, and many of the authors are unknown to me, so I look forward to exploring these books further.

The 2022 longlist is as follows:

Randa Abdel-Fattah - Coming of Age in the War on Terror

A non-fiction account of a generation growing up during the war on terror and the climate of Islamaphobia, fear and distrust that permeates young people's consciousness. Adbel-Fattah is an academic, author and lawyer who interviewed young people about the rise of the far-right and their sense of belonging. 

Eunice Andrada - Take Care

This is the first year that poetry is eligible for the Stella Prize. Andrada's collection of verse  has been described by the judges as a meditation 'on the ethics of care and the need to dismantle in order to recollect, to recover, and to create.' This poetry is personal and political, reflecting on rape culture, justice systems, sexual violence, colonialism and more. This is Andrada's second collection of poetry. Her previous collection Flood Damages was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Poetry.

Evelyn Araluen - Dropbear

This debut collection of  poetry and short prose exploring language and identity. Araluen critiques a nostalgic view of Australia. The judges report that 'Araluen's brilliance sizzles when she goes on the attack against the kitsch and the cuddly: against Australia's fantasy of its own racial and environmental innocence.' She bears witness to the present, and hopes for a decolonial future. 

Paige Clark - She is Haunted

Chinese/American/Australian author Paige Clark explores transnational identity, intergenerational trauma, mother-daughter relationships and more in this collection of short stories. The stories each feature protagonists caught in a moment of uncertainty. The judges report that 'Clark expertly threads together fractured lines of intergenerational, transnational, and diasporic identity'. 

Anwen Crawford - No Document 

Crawford is the author of Live Through This and is best known for her writing as a critic (The Monthly, Sydney Review of Books, The New Yorker). No Document is a long from poetic essay which explores grief as a catalyst for living with greater compassion. An elegy for the loss of a beloved friend, Crawford's work is described by the judges as 'a complex, deeply thought, and deeply felt ode to friendship and collaboration.' 

Jennifer Down - Bodies of Light

Maggie Sullivan is institutionalised, growing up in a foster homes and group facilities after her father is jailed. Neglected and abused, by 19 she is diagnosed with depression and trauma. The novel follows Maggie into adulthood, when she is forced to encounter her long buried past. The judges describe this novel as 'a daring and compelling work, suffused with pathos and an impressive degree of empathic vulnerability'.

Anita Heiss - Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray

Wiradjuri woman Dr Anita Heiss is an inspirational advocate for First Nations people. In this novel, inspired by a true story of Wiradyuri men who saved the lives of sixty people in a flood in 1852, the mighty Murrumbidgee River surges on Gundagai, devastating the town. This is a story of love, loss and belonging. Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray was shortlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize and Highly Commended in the 2022 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. 

Lee Lai - Stone Fruit

In this graphic novel Bron and Ray are a queer couple who have reached a point of impasse in their relationship. While they love spending time with their six-year old niece Nessie, there are unresolved issues within their families of origin which they must address in order to move forward as a couple. Lai uses a muted colour palette of blues and greys to bring this story to life. The judges said 'this is a deceptively simple depiction of the many various and complicated versions of familial love and care in our lives'. 

S J Norman - Permafrost

This collection of short stories explores desire, loss and longing. The judges report that 'Norman has a real talent for creating a sense of disquiet... that is both eerie and restless, and not often found today in fiction.' Permafrost is Norman's first book. Artist, writer and curator, Norman spent twenty years compiling these stories. 

Elfie Shiosaki - Homecoming

A genre-defying book, Homecoming is a collection of poetry, prose and historical archives which is also an ode to the Noongar people. The judges report that 'Shiosaki has delivered a work of poetic and narrative genius and can be read either as an ensemble of poems or as a single piece that moves seamlessly between the elegiac and the joyful.' The author is a Noongar and Yawuru writer and a lecture at the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia.



Lucy Van - The Open

A prose poetry collection, The Open explores the pressure of colonisation and capitalism, and the alienation and dislocation they engender. The judges report that 'Van starts with the familiar, then accelerates and expands on its implications, always taking the reader to a fresh space in which to turn these ideas over in the mind again and again and find new meaning in them.' Van's work has appeared in a variety of publications, but The Open is her first poetry collection.

Chelsea Watego - Another Day in the Colony

This is a collection of essays examining the ongoing and daily racism faced by First Nations people. Unapologetically written for her community, Watego stands her ground against colonialism. The judges report ' Watego's descriptions of the institutional and physical violence Aboriginal people are forced to endure in contemporary Australia are clear, urgent, and white hot with rage. At the same time, her portraits of moments with family, community, and ancestors are tender, vulnerable and joyous.' 

For more information and the complete judges comments, see the Stella Prize website. 

I am not sure how I feel about the longlist. It is pleasing to see such diverse authors recognised for their work and the exposure to wider audiences that an award like this brings. It is also lovely that poetry is now included, however this list seems to be have too many poetry collections and not enough novels and non-fiction for my liking. However as a reader, I am not really excited by the list. Normally there are a handful of titles that I am keen to read, but there is nothing here that I would rush out to find. Of the titles I would be most interested in are those by Anita Heiss, Lee Lai and SJ Norman.

The Shortlist will be announced on 31 March 2022.  Happy reading!

Fire Moves Faster

Author Maxine Beneba Clarke's fourth volume of poetry, How Decent Folk Behave (2021) is a captivating and thought-provoking collection of verse. She channels the anger and despair of the events of the past two years - bush fires, pandemic, Black Lives Matter, Me Too, refugees, climate change, deaths in custody, domestic violence - into accessible, meaningful poems that provide both a fresh approach and a reminder to maintain the rage. 

Beneba Clarke's poetry is political, addressing race, class and gender and the compounding impacts of privilege and power. In 'Something Sure' a mother talks to her son about growing up to be the sort of man who will stand up against domestic violence. 'Proximity' is about the victims of violence who never make the headlines. 'Wolf Pack' is about lone gunmen and the commonalities they share. 'The Monsters are Out' reminds us of the dangers on the streets and in our homes. 

Many of her poems are heartbreaking. 'Trouble Walking' speaks of health care for people of colour. 'Muscle Memory' reminds readers of the impact of the pandemic on people of colour and the racism experienced. 'Home to Biloela' about the Muragappan family and their brutal treatment by the Australian government. 

Beneba Clarke provokes readers, forcing them to stare into the ugly corners of our world, She is so direct and concise in her language, there is no ambiguity in her verse.  Her poem 'Capital' is a damning indictment on Australia's Parliament concluding with 'this place/is where women/get raped'.

The final verse in this collection is 'Fire Moves Faster' - a searing 20-page reflection on 2020 starting with the bushfires and continuing through lockdowns, home-schooling, the death of George Floyd, the US election and more. Despite the challenging subject matter, and the way in which Beneba Clarke holds up a mirror to us all, there is something deeply hopeful in her verse.  

I loved this collection of poetry and will return to it time and again to make sense of this period in our lives. The collection is prefaced with a quote for Nina Simone - 'An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.' Beneba Clarke has done this, capturing a time, a mood, and a moment in history. Absolutely brilliant.