Lee Lai‘s Cannon has become the first graphic novel to win the Stella Prize. Lai, 33, is the first trans author and cartoonist to win the award, which is presented annually to the best book of the year by an Australian woman or non-binary person. (Lai uses she/her pronouns.) The book, published last year by Drawn & Quarterly, tells the story of a Chinese cook in Montreal, who suffers a nervous breakdown, and destroys her kitchen. Fortunately, her best friend is there to bail her out.
The prize judges praised Cannon as “a compelling depiction of a fracturing friendship between two queer, second-generation Chinese women. It is also a bruising examination of the lifelong weight that people – often women – carry, the profound toll it takes to be the ‘responsible one’, and what can happen when you are being taken advantage of repeatedly. (Bonus: it is also, somehow, very funny.) Lai’s elegant artistry evokes horror and poignancy, shock and delight, and Cannon is an incontestable reminder that – in the hands of a masterful artist and storyteller – the very best graphic novels can do what prose alone cannot. And Cannon is absolutely one of the best.”
Lai tells Michael West Media she has complicated feelings about her win, saying, “There are a lot of brilliant creatives who are trans people who aren’t getting published; I think there are a lot of barriers.” She also said to Guardian Australia, “I hope that this is a win for the comics community as well, and that it makes some readers more interested in reading comics.” As for the $60,000 prize money, she tells ABC News, “This is rent and food for as long as I can stretch it, which, living in Montreal, is probably longer than it would be in Australia.”
For more from her, head to the links, and read a transcript of her acceptance speech (embedded above) here. A conversation between her and prize judge Benjamin Law will be held in Brisbane tomorrow, May 14. You can learn more, and book tickets to attend here. Lai was previously shortlisted for the Stella Prize for her 2021 release Stone Fruit; you can visit the official website for this year’s full shortlist.
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