The Strays (novel) explained

The Strays
Author:	Emily Bitto
Country:	Australia
Language:	English
Genre:	Novel
Publisher:	Affirm Press
Release Date:	1 May 2014
Media Type:	Print
Pages:	290 pp.
Isbn:	9781922213211
Awards:	2015 Stella Prize winner

The Strays is a 2014 novel by the Australian author Emily Bitto.^[1] It won the 2015 Stella Prize.^[2]

Synopsis

In her old age Art History lecturer Lily recalls her childhood in 1930s Melbourne when she had a friendship with Eva Trentham, daughter of the famous artists Evan and Helena Trentham.

Critical reception

James Tierney reviewed the novel for the Australian Book Review and noted that "Bitto has a deep interest in the transformative power of memory, in how life’s chaos is shaped into story."^[3]

Writing for the Text journal Ruby Todd called the book "elegant", noting that she has created a "resonant novel".^[4]

Publishing history

After the novel's initial publication in Australia in 2014 by Affirm Press it was reprinted as follows:

• Affirm Press, Australia, 2015^[5]
• Legend Press, UK, 2016
• Twelve, 2018, USA
• Affirm Press, Australia, 2021^[6]

Awards

• 2013 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer, shortlisted^[7]
• 2015 Stella Prize, winner
• 2015 Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction, shortlisted^[8]
• 2015 Nita Kibble Literary Awards — Dobbie Award, shortlisted
• 2015 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing, shortlisted
• 2016 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, longlisted

Notes

The author was interviewed by The Guardian newspaper after the novel was shortlisted for the Stella Prize.^[9]

See also

• 2014 in Australian literature

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Strays by Emily Bitto (Affirm 2014). National Library of Australia. 7 November 2024.
2. Web site: "The Stella Prize — 2015" . The Stella prize. https://web.archive.org/web/20160316170307/http://thestellaprize.com.au/the-stella-prize/2015-2/. 7 November 2024. 16 March 2016.
3. Web site: "The Strays by Emily Bitto" . Australian Book Review, May 2014. 7 November 2024.
4. Web site: "Speak, memory review by Ruby Todd" . Text Journal, October 2014. 7 November 2024.
5. Web site: Austlit — The Strays by Emily Bitto . Austlit. 7 November 2024.
6. Web site: The Strays by Emily Bitto (Affirm 2021). National Library of Australia. 7 November 2024.
7. Web site: Austlit — The Strays by Emily Bitto — Awards . Austlit. 7 November 2024.
8. Web site: "Indie Book Awards 2015 shortlists announced" . Books+Publishing. 7 November 2024.
9. Web site: "Stella prize 2015: the shortlisted authors on the stories behind their books" . The Guradian, 16 April 2015. 7 November 2024.