FANZA celebrates Australian storytelling with Stella Prize at Australia House, London
Pictured, L-R: The Honourable Jay Wetherill (Australian High Commissioner in the UK), Simon Savidge, Emily Maguire, Kate Mildenhall, Evie Wyld, Deborah Frances-White, Fiona Sweet (CEO of Stella Prize), Elisabeth Bowes (Australian Deputy High Commissioner in the UK)
FANZA was proud to help bring a very special literary evening to life at Australia House this week, working closely with the Australian High Commission and the Stella Prize to gather an extraordinary mix of Australian writers, UK-based publishers, literary agents, festival curators and cultural champions — many connecting around Australian literature for the first time.
Jointly hosted by the Australian High Commission and the Stella Prize — with the authors’ tour funded by Creative Australia — the reception and panel discussion, Celebrating Stories from Australia, shone a bright spotlight on the global power, wit and possibility of Australian women’s and non-binary storytelling.
Stella’s Executive Director and CEO Fiona Sweet opened the evening with warm, powerful words celebrating the brilliance, bite and international promise of the writers Stella champions. Deborah Frances-White — writer, comedian and creator of The Guilty Feminist — hosted with humour and sparkle, as the event formed part of the Stella Prize’s 2026 UK tour, creating new pathways between Australian writers and the UK publishing and literary festival worlds.
Speaking on behalf of the High Commission, Deputy High Commissioner Elisabeth Bowes echoed His Excellency the Honourable Jay Weatherill AO’s renewed focus on books and literature, and reminded guests that the marble and materials used to make Australia House were brought from Australia — so we were, quite literally, standing on a piece of Australia in Britain.
The lively panel brought together Stella Prize alumni Emily Maguire, Kate Mildenhall and Evie Wyld in conversation with broadcaster and literary champion Simon Savidge. Their discussion ranged widely and wonderfully — from homesickness and the pull of home, to the particular bite and warmth of Australian humour, hidden stories waiting to be brought into the light, and the importance of making space for new voices. It made for a joyous, intimate and generous evening, full of thoughtful, funny and illuminating reflections on the creative process, the writing life, and the realities facing Australian writers on the international stage.
L-R: Simon Savidge, Emily Maguire, Kate Mildenhall, Evie Wyld
The evening also saw the announcement of the OzLit Festival, an exciting new celebration of Australian literature and ideas in the UK, developed by FANZA with the support of the Australian High Commission to be held at Foyles Charing Cross Road on 18 October.
For FANZA, this was exactly the kind of gathering we exist to make possible: enriching, purposeful and full of promise. We were delighted to play our part in bringing the room together, and even more excited about what may grow from the conversations begun there.
