The Stella Prize Schools Program

Have you heard? As an extension of it's original initiative to promote the study of books written by Australian women, the Stella Prize organisers will send shortlisted authors to visit schools.

The Stella Prize was created to address gender imbalance in school reading lists, and to encourage wider reading among both girls and boys. Created for Years 7 - 12, the initiative includes an educational resource kit for teachers and educators, teaching notes on all Stella Prize shortlisted books, and school visits from prominent Australian authors.

The program kicked off in Melbourne with a launch at the Wheeler Centre, where Cate Kennedy, Tony Birch and Leanne Hall offered their views on the whole question of gender bias when it comes to the number of books by male authors that win big prizes and get onto the Year 12 English reading lists. Currently 70% of books on the Victoria Year 12 English reading list are written by men.

To change this culture and to inspire students —boys and girls alike — to enjoy a balance of books written from many perspectives, the Stella School Program will:

• offer visits by notable Australian female authors, educators and publishers
• provide hands-on writing workshops
• provide teaching notes for all Stella Prize shortlisted books ( for years 10 to 12)
• provide teaching resources for all secondary school levels.

The most recent shortlisted authors include Kirsty Murray (The Year It All Ended and Topsy Turvy World). Unfortunately, we don’t currently have reviews for other books shortlisted in the Stella Prize this year, but stay tuned — they will be coming soon!

Do you want to get on board? Contact Megan Quinlan, the Stella Prize Manager to find out more. Further details can be found at The Stella Prize website.