Overview
- Lee Lai, named the 2026 Stella Prize winner on Wednesday, received $60,000.
- It is the prize’s first win for a graphic novel, with reporting noting Lai as the first transgender writer to be honoured.
- Judges praised Cannon as quietly powerful, and Stella’s chief called it a triumph of the form.
- Cannon explores anger, fragile friendships and queer, second‑generation life, and it has drawn international attention with shortlistings including the Carol Shields Prize.
- The 2026 panel chaired by Sophie Gee, joined by Jaclyn Crupi, Benjamin Law, Gillian O’Shaughnessy and Ellen van Neerven, selected Lai as finalists each received $5,000.