Poet Sarah Holland-Batt has won the Stella Prize with her book The Jaguar.
Holland-Batt said winning the $60,000 prize was an indescribable joy and a deep honour during the presentation at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art on Thursday night.
“I’m thrilled to enter into the company of the extraordinary writers who have received the Stella, and so grateful for what this prize has done to transform the books and voices we value in Australian literature,” she said.
It’s the second year in a row a book of poetry has taken out the prize for Australian women and non-binary writers, with the 2022 prize going to poet Evelyn Araluen.
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Holland-Batt’s collection was written as she observed her father’s worsening Parkinson’s Disease, and the judges agreed The Jaguar is a “remarkable” work.
“This is a book that cuts through to the core of what it means to descend into frailty, old age, and death,” said judge Alice Pung who presented the award.
Holland-Batt, who is currently a Professor of Creative Writing and Literary Studies at the Queensland University of Technology, acknowledged all the women who have supported her work.
“It was the friendship, generosity, and camaraderie of women that not only saw me through this difficult time, but that has been the sustaining armature of my writing life,” she said.
Last year the Stella reached its $3 million fundraising target that will provide its annual prizemoney into the future.
-AAP
