In honour of NAIDOC Week, running from 6 to 13 July, we want to spotlight the books from incredible First Nations writers that our booksellers have been loving. With new releases as well as backlist favourites, and options for all ages, these recommendations are just a sample of the wonderful books available from First Nations Australians.
NAIDOC Week is a time to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. Find more information on this year's celebrations here, and read about the books our team have been loving below.
Jacinta has been reading:
Terra Nullius
Claire G. Coleman
Terra Nullius had me hooked from the very beginning. Such a powerful novel that masterfully weaves multiple stories and voices, while examining our brutal colonial history. The slow building tension and horror as you realise how all these points of view connect. The descriptions of land pulled me right into the environment, hot and barren. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.
Fiona has been reading:
A Good Kind of Trouble
Brooke Blurton & Melanie Saward
Jamie loves footy, her friends and her family, even if all three are a little complicated. When Stella arrives in town, everything gets a whole lot trickier – but maybe better too?
This is an excellent book. I adored it!
Angela has been reading:
Sea Horse
Bruce Pascoe
I really love the Bruce Pascoe book Sea Horse – it's an action-packed middle grade adventure with a First Nations family and a mystery that is both exciting and realistic. For ages 9+.
Chris has been reading:
Dropbear
Evelyn Araluen
I love to recommend Evelyn Aurelen’s book of poetry and musings Dropbear, which won the Stella Prize in 2022. I especially like to gift it to those that are about to do a public acknowledgment of country. Read it to find out why.
Reading her poetry is a crash course on the dialogues we need to be having in this country. Each piece of prose holds humour and heart alongside a rage at everything that has been taken from the first people in this country. Read and weep. Feel the shame. Acknowledge the cost.
Kim has been reading:
Tamarra: A Story of Termites on Gurindji Country
Violet Wadrill, Topsy Dodd Ngarnjal, Leah Leaman, Cecelia Edwards, Cassandra Algy, Felicity Meakins, Briony Barr, Gregory Crocetti
This is a wonderful collaboratively-created nonfiction book that is filled with beautiful art. This book uses storytelling, science and language cohesively with great effect!
Mel has been reading:
Praiseworthy
Alexis Wright
Don't rush through this book! It’s truly epic, there is a universe in every sentence … listen to some of it on audiobook if you can; Jacqui Katona is brilliant, Alexis is brilliant!
Alexis writes about a mysterious haze that sets over an Aboriginal town in the future. This is polemical, smart, funny, angry, beautiful and more.
Caz has been reading:
Benang
Kim Scott
Kim Scott is a two time winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award, for his novels Benang and That Deadman Dance. His works are must-reads!
His writing is both beautiful and confronting – I'm often left speechless by it.
Bella has been reading:
I'm Not Really Here
Gary Lonesborough
This is a lovely and incredibly relatable YA romance about a 17-year-old boy making a fresh start in a new town. While it may conjure painful memories of first-day-at-school nerves, fumbled flirtations and the longer-lasting pain of losing someone you love, it's also a fun and heartwarming story, full of the joys of community. I would recommend it to adults and teens alike – especially anyone who's enjoyed Heartstopper and would love a version set a little closer to home!
