The truth is, you’d be doing yourself a total disservice if I didn’t work your way through this essential reading list, stat.
Filled with stories, proverbs, poems, essays, and novels rich in unparalleled experiences of homeland, family, and healing, this reading list features truly amazing readings by First Nations authors that you’ll want to fully immerse yourself in. . expect everything from harsh realities and readings that will profoundly challenge your thinking to lyrical prose and even something slightly comical.
You are reading: Best books by indigenous authors
check out the best books written by first nation authors.
too much lip
by Melissa Luchasenko
We love Melissa Lucashenko with a passion and once you lip-read too much, you’ll easily understand why she’s become our top pick in the bookstore. This epic read is raw and darkly hilarious, as prankster Kerry Salter has spent her entire life haunting her hometown and her prison. except now, her dad is dying and she’s pretty close to being locked up, so it makes the trip to the country of bundjalung and her old family wounds reopen. there’s also the unexpected arrival of a handsome (white) dugai who can’t seem to leave her alone.
my tidda, my sister
by marlee silver, rachael sarra
If you haven’t read this book yet, what the hell have you been reading? while we know that aboriginal and torres strait islander culture and society have existed for millennia, my tidda, my sister, shares the vast experiences of many indigenous women and girls. This reading acts as a grand celebration of telling the truth with some stories that tick the poignant box and others that spill over into the harsh realities of indigenous women past and present. in any case, the stories are all interconnected through a strengthening and unbreakable bond of brotherhood.
song lines
by margo nylle and lynne kelly
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Having only appeared last year, we’ll forgive you (for now) if you haven’t sunk your literary teeth into the brilliance of the song lines (which is actually part of a larger six-part series you should get into ) written by two of the best female authors of 2020. This is an absolute staple in any home library because Songlines is an archival read of the knowledge coming from Australia’s First Nations who saw their culture flourish for over 60,000 years. while other books in this series delve into First Nations knowledge around design, land management, and medicine, the song lines are a vice to provide a greater understanding of how First Nations people kept I live knowledge, not through written recordings, but through songs, art and most importantly: country.
performance
by tara june winch
Say hello to what will undoubtedly be one of the best reads of your life. Written by Wiradjuri author Tara June Winch, a contemporary author you should have met by now, the result is an exceptional novel of a dispossessed people and culture. Knowing that he will soon die, Albert “Poppy” Gondiwindi sets to writing: He has spent his life on the banks of the Murrumby River and is determined to pass on the language of his people and all that he was ever remembered for. this one also just got the franklin miles award, so go ahead and dig into the pages of it.
growing up aboriginal in australia
by anita heiss
As challenging as this one can be, Growing Up Aboriginal Australia is an absolute must read. Gathering the perspectives of many people including Tony Birch, Adam Goodes, Deborah Cheetham, Terri Janke, and many more, this groundbreaking anthology reveals, to some degree, the impacts of invasion and colonization: on language, on country, on ways of life, and how people are treated on a daily basis in the community, the educational system, the workplace, and friendship groups.
dark emu
by bruce pascoe
if you’re open to changing everything you learned in school, this is the book for you. Dark Emu is written by Yuin and Bunurong Man Bruce Pacoe, whose experience is recorded as a teacher, farmer, fisherman, lecturer, Aboriginal language researcher, archaeological site worker, and editor. this book represents a complete rethinking of the ‘hunter-gatherer’ label for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians criticizing colonial myths that claimed there was no evidence of agriculture, aquaculture and engineering.
maar bidi: state-of-the-art black writing
by elfie shiosaki, linda martin
To challenge the way you think about Australia, you need to sink your literary teeth into maar bidi: the next generation of black writing. This book is beautifully curated with anthologies of prose and fiction from a diverse league of talented writers telling what it means to be a young person of color and a minority in this world. there are young essayists, critics, novelists, poets and authors who shake up writing styles and the result is a deep map of indigenous writers who speak of country and kinship.
guwayu, for all times
by dr. jeanine leane, poetry of the red room
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Another great read balanced with the complexities of language, stories, and culture is Guwayu, For All Time. This book features an extensive collection of First Nations poems (all commissioned by Red Room Poetry over the past 16 years) and uncensored holdings compared to 12 different languages. there are over 60 poems to make your way through, ranging from lyrical, confessional, protest, narrative, and song. guwayu, for all times has been edited by wiradjuri poet, dr. jeanine leane.
the white girl
by tony birch
He’s absolutely one of the best writers out there, so it shouldn’t surprise you that you need to talk about tony birch’s white girl (and while you’re at it, check out shadowboxing, ghost river, and blood too). however, this particular book is about odette brown. she has been living her life on the outskirts of a small rural town and raising her granddaughter, sissy, alone. she managed to stay quite low on the radar of the local welfare authority that has been removing light-skinned indigenous children from the communities. However, a new cop is very determined to enforce the law, which means that Odette has to do everything she can to save Sissy and protect the family from her.
bindi
by kirli saunders
You can thank us later because bindi is the only book you need to gift to any of the little people in your life and hey, if you want to flip through its pages, you’ll be breathless too. tells the story of 11-year-old bindi, who is an absolute force in art class and on the field when he plays hockey. while his year seems to veer from how it should have been with big assignments, drought, wildfires, and a broken wrist, the beauty of bindi is that it subtly intertwines the realities of climatic wildfires and intergenerational healing. The book is also perfect in the way it intertwines English and Gundungurra words.
now immerse yourself in these powerful films made by first nation directors.
design credit: juliette davies
editor’s note: urban list editors independently select and write about things we love and think you will too. urban list has affiliate associations, so we earn money from your purchases.
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