Updated with news of the shortlist, 31/3/22. Shortlisted titles are now in bold in the list below. You can read more about it at The Guardian.
No disrespect to the shortlisted authors but I’m really disappointed that Anita Heiss’s book wasn’t on the list. I was watching news reports this week about floods in Gundagai, and though the report covered the early history of siting the town in defiance of Aboriginal advice about floods, I was disappointed that no mention was made of the heroic rescues of 69 people by Aboriginal men Yarri and Jacky-Jacky during the floods of 1852. A shortlisting, and the publicity that engenders, would have made this story more widely known, as it should be. The novel would be on school reading lists, if I had my way.
Announced today, the 2022 Stella Prize longlist is:
- Coming of Age in the War on Terror by Randa Abdel-Fattah (NewSouth Books)
- Take Care by Eunice Andrada (Giramondo Publishing)
- Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen (University of Queensland Press)
- She Is Haunted by Paige Clark (Allen & Unwin)
- No Document by Anwen Crawford (Giramondo Publishing), see my review
- Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down (Text Publishing)
- Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss (Simon & Schuster), see my review
- Stone Fruit by Lee Lai (Fantagraphics)
- Permafrost by SJ Norman (University of Queensland Press)
- Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki (Magabala Books), see my review
- The Open by Lucy Van (Cordite Books)
- Another Day in the Colony by Chelsea Watego (University of Queensland Press)
Congratulations to all the authors, editors and publishers!
Each of the longlisted authors wins $1000.
The $50,000 Stella Prize is awarded annually to one outstanding book deemed to be original, excellent, and engaging. The 2022 Stella Prize shortlist will be announced on Thursday 31 March, and the 2022 Stella Prize winner will be announced on Thursday 28 April.
For more information, visit the prize website.
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
I’ve read none of them. That hasn’t happened for ages!
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By: Theresa Smith Writes on February 28, 2022
at 11:27 pm
I’d reserved No Document at the library on the strength of your review, and happily it arrived last week – it’s next on my reading list.
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By: Kate W on March 1, 2022
at 8:25 pm
Good timing!
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By: Lisa Hill on March 2, 2022
at 9:44 am
I’m so surprised that not only have I not read any in this list but haven’t heard of any either. Some more for my TBR
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By: S.C. Karakaltsas on March 2, 2022
at 12:02 pm
I think we all are!
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By: Lisa Hill on March 2, 2022
at 12:06 pm
I have Another Day in the Colony so that’s exciting. A lot of poetry, though, I hear …
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By: Liz Dexter on March 4, 2022
at 8:18 am
Even though I am usually a little out-of-synch with this prize, despite my interest, I was relieved to see that even other readers closer to it geographically are feeling like it’s a list of surprises!
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By: Marcie McCauley on March 7, 2022
at 10:41 am
Fascinating list – I don’t know any of the books, but I enjoyed looking them up, and added a couple to my TBR list. It’s great to see such a wide variety of fiction, poetry, graphic novels, essays, etc., all in one list. Must be tough to pick a winner from such different books!
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By: Andrew Blackman on March 14, 2022
at 8:09 am
Hi Andrew, yes, that’s the thing… how do they ever manage to choose a winner?
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By: Lisa Hill on March 14, 2022
at 10:48 am