Stella prize 2026: Lee Lai becomes first non-binary person and first graphic novelist to win with Cannon

Lai wins $60,000 literary award for her study of a young woman’s repression and rage as she struggles to juggle the needs of those around her Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads As the 2026 winner of the Stella prize, Lee Lai has established two new firsts: the first ever non-binary winner with her book Cannon, which is the first graphic novel to win the $60,000 Australian literary award for women and non-binary writers. Cannon follows the titular, queer Chinese woman living...

By Sian Cain