Emily Bitto

Emily Bitto is an Australian writer. Her debut novel, The Strays, won the 2015 Stella Prize for Australian women's writing.

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 Stella Prize 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.

Bitto attended the University of Melbourne 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and honours Year Title Award Category Result Ref. 2013 The Strays Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer 2015 Indie Book Awards Debut Fiction New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Glenda Adams Award for New Writing Nita Kibble Literary Awards Dobbie Award Stella Prize — 2022 Wild Abandon ALS Gold Medal — Colin Roderick Award — 2023 — Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship —