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Anita Heiss Anita Heiss i(A7669 works by) (a.k.a. Anita M. Heiss)
Born: Established: 1968 Sydney, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Aboriginal Wiradjuri ; Aboriginal
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BiographyHistory

Professor Anita Heiss is a member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales and is one of Australia’s most prolific and well-known authors of Aboriginal literature. She has a PhD in Communication and Media which resulted in a history of Indigenous publishing titled Dhuuluu-Yala : To Talk Straight. Other published works include the historical novel Who Am I? : The Diary of Mary Talence : Sydney, 1937, the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature, which she co-edited with Peter Minter.

In 2007 Anita released three titles: the novel Not Meeting Mr Right, the poetry collection I'm Not Racist, But... : A Collection of Social Observations, and the children's novel, Yirra and Her Deadly Dog, Demon. These were followed by Avoiding Mr Right and Manhattan Dreaming in 2008 and 2011 respectively. In 2011, Anita released Paris Dreaming and Demon Guards the School Yard, which was written with the students of La Perouse Public School in Sydney for the award-winning Yarning Strong series. Her novel Tiddas is set in Brisbane and was published in 2014. It was followed by Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms in 2016. Anita also edited the anthology Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, which was released in 2018 by Black Inc.

In 2004 Anita was listed in the Bulletin magazine’s 'Smart 100'. Her memoir Am I Black Enough for You? was a finalist in the 2012 Human Rights Awards and she was a finalist in the 2013 Australian of the Year Awards (Local Hero). Anita has made guest appearances on many television programs including the Einstein Factor, Message Stick, Vulture, Critical Mass, A Difference of Opinion (all ABC), The Catch Up (Channel 9), Living Black (SBS), The Gathering (NITV), 9am with David and Kim and The Circle (both Channel 10).

Anita is a sought after public speaker and performer, delivering keynote addresses at universities and conferences across the USA, Canada, the UK, Tahiti, Fiji, New Caledonia, Spain, Japan, Austria, Germany and New Zealand. She has also presented at Australian Embassies and Consulates in Vienna, Paris, New York, Atlanta and Shanghai. She is an Ambassador for the GO Foundation, Worawa Aboriginal College and the Sydney Swans, and a Lifetime Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Anita is a tireless advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writing and has been involved in AustLit's BlackWords project since its inception in 2007.

In 2019, Anita was appointed a Professor of Communications at the University of QLD. She currently sits on the Board of the State Library of QLD.

Exhibitions

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Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Also published: Our Dream - Stopping the Violence : An Information Booklet for Aboriginal Women on Domestic Violence and the Law in NSW (Redfern Legal Centre, Publishing, 1999)

    .Image result for Our Dream - Stopping the Violence

    Also edited and authored Wize Up a comic book for Streewize Comics (1992) 

Personal Awards

2023 finalist National NAIDOC Awards Creative Talent
2022-2023 shortlisted Adaptable (Queensland Writers Centre)
2022 recipient Order of Australia Member of the Order of Australia (AM) For significant service to tertiary Indigenous studies, and to the arts

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Bidhi Galing Big Rain Cammeray : Simon and Schuster Australia , 2023 26042747 2023 single work picture book children's

'Powerful and moving, Bidhi Galing (Big Rain) celebrates the Wiradyuri heroes of the Great Flood of Gundagai in 1852, told through the eyes of a young girl who is rescued from the raging floodwaters by her father.

'Wagadhaany grew up near the Marrambidya Bila. She loved dancing in the rain and listening to her father, Yarri, tell her stories about life on Wiradyuri ngurambang.

'When white people started building on the floodplains, Yarri was worried. He knew the power of the bila and tried to warn the strangers, but they would not listen.

'Years later, when the big rains came, Yarri and his brother, Jacky Jacky, jumped into their bark canoes and paddled through raging floodwaters, risking their lives to save countless others.' (Publication summary)

2024 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Eve Pownall Award
y separately published work icon Koori Princess Broome : Magabala Books , 2022 24959669 2022 single work children's fiction children's

'Karan rolls her eyes. ‘What’s this year’s theme? Oh no, let me guess,’ she looks into the distance, pretending to ponder the possibilities. Sarcastically she asks, ‘Is it... could it possibly be...a princess party?’

'Teish is a sassy, soon-to-be 7-year-old and the apple of her dad’s eye. She believes more than anything, that she is a Disney princess. Her older siblings, Karan and Kim, like to remind her that she isn’t. Teish is determined to believe that she can be whoever she wants to be.

'With the help of boisterous, irreverent cousins and friends, a princesses-of-colour party with all the trimmings and an adventure to the beach, Teish teaches her family that she can be a princess and remain true to herself.

'But will her siblings accept her being a feisty Koori Princess?'  (Publication summary)

2022 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Small Publishers' Children's Book of the Year
y separately published work icon Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray River of Dreams Cammeray : Simon and Schuster Australia , 2021 18083402 2021 single work novel historical fiction

'1852

'When the township of Gundagai is devastated by raging floodwaters, two local Wiradjuri men, Yarri and Jacky Jacky, risk their lives to rescue a third of the town's residents in bark canoes on the treacherous Murrumbidgee River.

'Among those saved are James and David Bradley, wealthy settlers. The Bradleys leave for Wagga Wagga, with James’s new bride, Louisa – and Yarri’s daughter, Wagadhaany, their Aboriginal servant, removing her from her beloved family and country. As a Quaker, Louisa’s mission is to help the Wiradjuri people, including Wagadhaany, and the two women develop an unorthodox friendship.

'In Wagga Wagga, Wagadhaany meets Yindyamarra, a young Wiradjuri stockman working for the Bradleys, and they fall deeply in love. They dream of a better life, of children, and of going home, away from the degradation of being owned – and one day, with their young family, they set out on a journey along the river of their ancestors in search of lost family and country – one that will bring hope and heartache.

'Set on timeless Wiradjuri country where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, River of Dreams is an epic story of love, loss and belonging.'

(Source : Simon and Schuster)

2022 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year
2022 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Audiobook of the Year Narrated by Tamala Shelton.
2022 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Indigenous Writer's Prize
2022 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Australian General Fiction Book of the Year
2022 longlisted The Stella Prize
2022 highly commended Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Prize for Fiction
2022 longlisted Indie Awards Fiction
2021 shortlisted HNSA Historical Novel Prize Adult
Last amended 20 Jan 2020 12:26:10
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