Congratulations Clare Wright on winning the Stella Prize for her book The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka. You can read my review here.
And well done her, too, for donating $2500 each to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and her local high school, Northcote High. This is the second time this week where I’ve read of donations/fundraising going to public schools- the other was an article yesterday about leading chefs contributing to school cookbooks for local state-run schools. This is the cultural (as well as financial!) capital that private schools trade on and government schools lack. Good on them.
The winners of The Stella Prize are setting a great precedent by donating a portion of their winnings to others. Literary awards benefit authors. They benefit readers too by financing winners in their quest to write more books and by encouraging authors to greater heights. Clare’s donation to these two groups means The Stella Prize is helping new generations gain the reading and writing skills that will contribute to future literary achievements.