Lee Lai’s Cannon is the first graphic novel to win the Stella Prize

By Jen Webb, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Creative Practice, Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra

Author–artist Lee Lai has won the 2026 Stella Prize for her graphic novel, Cannon. This is the first time the Stella has been won by a graphic novel.

Lai, who was shortlisted for the Stella Prize in 2022 for Stone Fruit, has had work published in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Granta and more. Cannon was named as a best book for 2025 in several lists, and shortlisted for several prizes, including the Carol Shields Prize and…

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