Evelyn Araluen’s ‘The Rot’ Secures Spot on Stella Prize Shortlist, Marking Her Second Nomination

Evelyn Araluen has been named among the six finalists for the 2026 Stella Prize with her second poetry collection, The Rot. This marks her second appearance on the shortlist, four years after becoming the first poet to win the award as an Australian woman and non‑binary writer.

The $60,000 prize will be contested alongside five diverse titles: Geraldine Brooks’ memoir Memorial Days, Miranda Darling’s novel Fireweather, Lee Lai’s graphic novel Cannon, Marika Sosnowski’s hybrid nonfiction 58 Facets: On Violence and the Law, and Tasma Walton’s novel I Am Nannertgarrook. Each shortlisted author receives a $5,000 advance.

Earlier this year, Araluen’s The Rot captured the top prize and a $125,000 award at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, praised for its exploration of grief and collective anxiety amid the global coverage of the Gaza conflict.

The collection was sparked by an incident at Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2024, where Araluen was heckled for describing the Israeli bombardment of Gaza as genocide. She told Guardian Australia that the poems aim to document a "panicked, distressed window of time" that future readers might view with horror and regret.

"I wanted the book to clearly record what we knew and did not stop," Araluen said. "If it reads as naive, let it still serve as a record of an uncomfortable truth we all must face."

Araluen, a Goorie and Koori poet, first won the Stella Prize in 2022 for her debut collection Dropbear. This year’s shortlist was selected from 212 submissions, underscoring the depth of contemporary Australian women’s and non‑binary writing.

Chair of judges Sophie Gee praised the list, noting that the books “move us to the core through language, the truth of their emotion, and the honesty of what it means to be human, across time and space.”

The winner will be announced on 13 May 2026. Last year’s prize went to Michelle de Kretser for her novel Theory and Practice.