"[2] It was established by a group of 11 Australian women writers, editors, publishers and booksellers who became concerned about the poor representation of books by women in Australia's top literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award.
[3][4] "After a rapid acceleration in women's rights in the '70s and '80s, things have started to go backwards," Sophie Cunningham said in a keynote address at the 2011 Melbourne Writers' Festival.
"Women continue to be marginalised in Australian culture and the arts sector – which likes to pride itself on its liberal values – is, in fact, complacent.
"[5] Some commentators, such as Erin Handley writing in The Age, have said that fiction and non-fiction are different genres that should be judged separately, highlighting that this is an issue for the Stella Prize.
"[6] The 2021 Stella Prize guidelines opened entries to books by non-binary as well as women writers.