I just donated $100 to the Stella Prize and it feels g-o-o-o-d.  And if as if that wasn’t enough, the nice people at the Stella have thrown in some sweeteners.  Thanks, Stellas!

They’re going to send me two literary journals, in hard copy.  That should up the IQ at my place.

Apparently the journals will come with a groovy Stella tote.  I shall leave it lying around in a casual yet stylish way that indicates how much of a literary insider I am.  To whom this will be indicated I’m not quite sure.  Perhaps the cat.

They’re also going to give me a free ticket to their launch party in February.  Yes, a free ticket to a party with wine.  I’m there.  While obviously the wine will be my key focus, the 2016 Stella Prize long-list will also be announced at the party by Alice Pung.  Nice.

They’re also going to let me enter the Stella Pen Pal program.  If I win I can send three letters, and will receive three in return, from one of three excellent Australian writers.  With all those threes it has the whiff of fairytale, I know, but it’s true.  I can choose from Hannah Kent, Ellen van Neerven or Clare Wright.  I’ll choose Clare – ostensibly because she’s an historian who writes about women but mainly because she’s awesome.

Probably most of exciting of all, because I’ve made the donation my name will automatically be added to the list of Stella Spark supporters on the Stella website.  Fame and glory will finally be mine for all eternity, mwahahaha.

Oops, sorry.  Ahem.

The Stella Sparks campaign is, like the Stella Prize itself, all about celebrating writing by Australian women.

Small donations to the Stella Prize are sparks that kindle and ignite the life force of the prize and the community surrounding it. With this in mind, we invite anyone who believes in gender equality in literature to become a Stella Spark.

All this and a tax deduction too.  What on earth are you waiting for?