Emily Bitto is an Australian writer. Her debut novel, '' The Strays'', won the 2015

Stella Prize The Stella Prize is an Australian annual literary award established in 2013 for writing by Australian women in all genres, worth $50,000. It was originally proposed by Australian women writers and publishers in 2011, modelled on the UK's Bailey ...

for Australian women's writing.

Biography

Bitto was shortlisted for the Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript for an emerging Victorian Writer at the 2013 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, for the manuscript of her debut novel, '' The Strays''. The novel was subsequently published by

Affirm Press Affirm Press is a Melbourne-based book publisher. History In 2010, Affirm Press began publishing several books a year as a part-time operation between Martin Hughes, former editor of ''The Big Issue'', and Graeme Wise, founder of The Body Shop A ...

in March 2014. ''The Strays'' is a fictionalisation of the 1930s group of Australian artists known as the

Heide Circle The Heide Circle was a loose grouping of Australian artists who lived and worked at "Heide", a former dairy farm on the Yarra River floodplain at Bulleen, Victoria, Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, counting amongst their number many of Australia's ...

. Bitto has said that she "tried to capture (...) the romance and excitement of that circle; the sense of the new that stirred the stale waters of outer Melbourne when a group of artists came together to work and live side by side, to buck the establishment and create their own small utopia within the confines of an old house and a large, thriving garden." ''The Age'' described it as "an eloquent portrayal of the damage caused by self-absorption as well as a moving study of isolation". It was awarded the

for the best book of fiction or nonfiction by an Australian woman. The Stella Prize judges described ''The Strays'' as "like a gemstone: polished and multifaceted, reflecting illuminations back to the reader and holding rich colour in its depths." ''The Strays'' has been published in the UK (Legend Press), U.S. (Twelve Books) and Canada (Penguin). It was a ''New York Times Book Review'' editor's pick, and received favourable reviews from NPR and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. Bitto attended the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

where she earned a masters in literary studies and a PhD in creative writing. She lives in Melbourne, where she co-owns and runs the Carlton wine-bar Heartattack and Vine, which she opened with her partner and two friends in late 2014.

Award and honours

Bibliography

* '' The Strays'' (2014) * ''Wild Abandon'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitto, Emily Living people Australian women novelists University of Melbourne alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)