Lee Lai

Lee Lai
Lai in 2023
Born1993 (age 32–33)
Melbourne, Australia
Notable works

Lee Lai (born 1993) is an Australian cartoonist and writer of graphic novels. Lee was born in Australia but has lived in Canada since 2016. She is known for her debut graphic novel Stone Fruit, for which she was named an honoree of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 award in 2021. The book was also a finalist for several other awards in the US and Australia. In 2025, Lai released Cannon, which in May 2026 became the first graphic novel to win the Stella Prize, with Lai being the first trans and non-binary person to win the prize.

Early life and education

Lee Lai was born in 1993 in Melbourne[1] and has a sister, with whom she is close.[2]

Career

Lai became interested in comics because of mild dyslexia, which made reading traditional novels difficult.[3] Her short story comics have been published in The New Yorker, The Lifted Brow, Room Magazine, and Everyday Feminism.[1]

She published her first graphic novel, Stone Fruit, in 2021, which was shortlisted for the Stella Prize in Australia. It is also the first time that it has been won by a transgender person.[4][5]

Her 2025 graphic novel, Cannon, is about friendship. It won the Stella Prize in May 2026, becoming the first graphic novel to do so in the 14-year history of the prestigious award.[4] It has also been shortlisted for the 2026 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.[4]

As of 2026 she has been working for some years as a cartoonist, to provide a regular income to live on.[4]

Personal life

As of May 2026 Lai lives in Montreal. She moved there in 2016, in order to be able to make a living as a cartoonist and illustrator, owing to the larger market in North America.[4]

Lai is transgender, [3] non-binary,[6] and gay.[2]

Awards and honours

Year Title Award Result Ref.
2020 Heartwood Prism Award for Anthology Won [7]
2021 Stone Fruit American Library Association's Best Graphic Novels for Adults Top 10 [8]
Ignatz Award for Outstanding Artist Won [9]
Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel Won
National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 Award Honoree [1]
2022 Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor [10]
Cartoonist Studio Prize Won [11]
Doug Wright Award for Best Book Finalist [12]
Lambda Literary Award for Graphic Novel/Comics Finalist [13][14]
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics Finalist [15]
American Library Association's Over the Rainbow Book List Top 10 [16]
Stella Prize Shortlisted [5]
2025 Cannon Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics Shortlisted [17]
2026 Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction Shortlisted [18]
Carol Shields Prize for Fiction Shortlisted [19]
Stella Prize Won [6][20]

Publications

Contributions

  • Heartwood: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy, edited by Joamette Gil (2019)
  • McSweeney's #62: The Queer Fiction Issue, edited by Patrick Cottrell, Dave Eggers (Editor), and Claire Boyle (Editor) (2020)

Illustrations

  • A Head-Heart Start For Life: Creative Mindful Discoveries for Young Children, written by Janet Etty-Leal (2019)

References

  1. ^ a b c "Lee Lai". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b Favreau, Alyssa (1 September 2021). "'No Villains, Only Messes': An Interview with Lee Lai". Hazlitt. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b MacDonald, Heidi (18 May 2021). "Honest and Emotional: Lee Lai's Graphic Novel Debut". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e Heath, Nicola (13 May 2026). "Cannon by Lee Lai becomes first graphic novel to win the Stella Prize". ABC News. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  5. ^ a b Baldry, Daniela (14 April 2022). "Announcing the 2022 Stella Prize Shortlist". stella.org.au. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b Cain, Sian (13 May 2026). "Stella prize 2026: Lee Lai becomes first non-binary person and first graphic novelist to win with Cannon". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  7. ^ "The Prism Awards for Excellence in LGBTQ+ Comics". Prism Comics. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  8. ^ "2021 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List". American Library Association. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. ^ Chiu-Tabet, Christopher (19 September 2021). "2021 Ignatz Awards Winners Announced". Archived from the original on 20 September 2021.
  10. ^ Chapman, Monica (1 February 2022). "2022 Barbara Gittings Literature Award and Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award of the Stonewall Book Awards announced". American Library Association. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Stone Fruit". Fantagraphics. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  12. ^ Tobias, Conan (16 May 2022). "Announcing the nominees of the 18th annual Doug Wright Awards". Doug Wright Awards. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  13. ^ Gaynor, Jessie (16 March 2022). "Here are the finalists for the 2022 Lambda Literary Awards". Literary Hub. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  14. ^ Lewis, LeKesha (15 March 2022). "2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  15. ^ "L.A Times Book Prizes 2022". Festival of Books. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  16. ^ Chapman, Monica (15 February 2022). "Over the Rainbow Committee announces 2022 Top 10 Book List". American Library Association. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  17. ^ "L.A. Times Book Prize honorees named — many celebrate resistance: 'When people rise, empires always fall'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  18. ^ "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2026 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 10 December 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  19. ^ Cassandra Drudi, "15 books longlisted for 2026 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction". Quill & Quire, March 10, 2026.
  20. ^ Moore, Georgia (10 April 2026). "Stella Prize 2026: All the remarkable books shortlisted". The Australian Women's Weekly. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
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