A graphic novel about a queer Chinese woman working in a Montreal kitchen and caring for her aging grandfather has just made Australian literary history. Lee Lai, a non-binary author, won the 2026 Stella prize for their book Cannon, becoming the first non-binary winner and the first graphic novelist to claim the $60,000 award.
A story of quiet rage and unpaid care
The book follows a young woman known as Cannon, whose real name is Lucy, then Luce, then the unwanted nickname (loose) Cannon. She lives on the “uncool side of [her] twenties” in Montreal, Canada. By day she looks after her gung-gung, her maternal grandfather, a former tyrant now weakened by age. Her emotionally avoidant mother offers no help. By night Cannon works in the kitchen of a fine-dining restaurant, turning chaos into order. Her longtime best friend Trish uses Cannon as a sounding board for all her problems and secretly mines Cannon’s life as material for her own writing career.
A prize that broke two barriers at once
The Stella prize is an Australian literary award for women and non-binary writers. Lai’s win marks the first time a non-binary author has taken the prize, and the first time a graphic novel has won. The award comes with $60,000. The judges selected Cannon from a field of contenders, citing its study of a young woman’s repression and rage as she struggles to balance the needs of everyone around her.
For Australian readers and the literary community, the win signals a broadening of what kinds of stories and storytellers are recognized at the highest level. A graphic novel, a non-binary author, and a protagonist who is neither heroic nor pitiable but quietly buckling under invisible labor have now claimed a prize originally founded to address gender imbalance in Australian publishing. The book’s setting in Montreal and its focus on a queer Chinese woman’s interior life also reflect a shift toward stories that cross borders and genres. The Stella prize has, in one decision, expanded its own definition of who gets to be heard.
