Bella Li

Li was born in China in 1983. When she was three she and parents migrated to Australia. Li has an Arts/Law degree from the University of Melbourne.[1] In 2020 she received a PhD from the same university for her thesis, "The Forest, the Desert and the Road: Chronotopes of American Spaces in Twentieth-century Long-form Poetry; and a Creative Work, 'Hotel America'".[2]

Her poetry has appeared in Meanjin,[3] Cordite and other literary journals.[1] In 2017 Li was awarded a literary grant by the Australia Council.[4] She served as a judge for the 2020 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize.[5]

• Shortlisted, University of Melbourne's Australian Centre Literary Awards, Wesley Michel Wright Prize, 2014 for Maps, Cargo[6]
• Highly commended, Anne Elder Award, 2017 for Argosy[7]
• Shortlisted, Red Room Poetry fellowship, 2017[8]
• Commended, University of Melbourne's Australian Centre Literary Awards, Wesley Michel Wright Prize, 2017 for Argosy[9]
• Winner, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Poetry Prize, 2018 for Argosy[10]
• Winner, NSW Premier's Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, 2018 for Argosy[11]
• Shortlisted, Queensland Literary Awards Judith Wright Calanthe Award, 2018 for Lost Lake[12]
• Shortlisted, NSW Premier's Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, 2022 for Theory of Colour[13]

• Maps, Cargo, Vagabond Press, 2013
• Argosy, Vagabond Press, 2017, ISBN 978-1-922181-96-1
• Lost Lake, Vagabond Press, 2018, ISBN 978-1-925735-18-5
• Theory of Colour, Vagabond Press, 2021, ISBN 978-1-925735-23-9

• 2013 photograph of Bella Li by Nicholas Walton-Healey is held in the State Library of Victoria
• Bella Li on LinkedIn