Stella Day Out

Join us as Stella-listed authors Laura Elizabeth Woollett and Santilla Chingaipe speak on themes of violence and power, slavery, and history (and its erasure).

Session 1: Growing up on the margins (11am-12pm)

2024 Longlisted Stella author Laura Elizabeth Woollett discusses navigating desire, violence and limited choices in suburbia. Moderated by Megan McCracken

Session 2: Finding erased stories (1pm-2pm)

2025 Shortlisted Author Santilla Chingaipe discusses her novel Black Convicts with Sisonke Msimang.

Laura Elizabeth Woollett

Laura Elizabeth Woollett is the author of a short story collection, two novels and the novel-in-stories West Girls, which was long-listed for the 2024 Stella Prize. Born and raised in Boorloo/ Perth, she now lives in Naarm/ Melbourne. She has been the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, most recently a 2025 Keesing Studio Residency at the Cité Internationale Des Arts in Paris. She is currently completing her first work of nonfiction. 

Megan McCracken

Megan McCracken is Chair of the board of the Stella Prize whose vision is to create an Australian society that recognises and values the cultural contribution and diversity the stories of women and nonbinary people. She has twice been Judge for the WA Premier’s Book Awards and is the co-host of social media channel Festival Mavens which reviews books and book festivals.

Santilla Chingaipe 

Santilla Chingaipe is a filmmaker, historian and author, whose work explores settler colonialism, slavery, and postcolonial migration in Australia. Chingaipe’s critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary Our African Roots is streaming on SBS On Demand; Black Convicts builds on the research for that, taking it further. The recipient of several awards, she was also recognised at the United Nations as one of the most influential people of African descent in the world in 2019. She is a regular contributor to The Saturday Paper, and served as a member of the Federal Government’s Advisory Group on Australia–Africa Relations. Chingaipe is the founder of Behind The Screens, an annual program supported by VicScreen, aimed at increasing the representation of people historically excluded from the Australian film industry. She is based in Melbourne. Her novel Black Convicts was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize.

Sisonke Msimang

Sisonke Msimang is the author of two books, Always Another Country and the Resurrection of Winnie Mandela. She has been widely published including in the New York Times, Al Jazeera, Newsweek and the Guardian.