Magabala Books is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

publishing house based in

Broome, Western Australia Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru, Yawuru people, is a coastal Pearl hunting, pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The town recorded a population of 14,6 ...

, founded in 1987. Their stated objective is "restoring, preserving and maintaining Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures". The name ''Magabala'' is a Yawuru, Karrajari and Nyulnyul word for the bush banana. In 1990, they became an independent Aboriginal corporation. Their published literature includes Aboriginal lore, children's books and oral history. Many prominent Australian Indigenous authors have been published with Magabala Books. including

Anita Heiss Anita Marianne Heiss (born 1968) is an Aboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator. She is an advocate for Indigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her memb ...

, Ali Cobby Eckermann,

Jimmy Pike Jimmy Pike (1940 – 3 November 2002) was a Walmatjarri Aboriginal artist. Early life Jimmy Pike was born around 1940 east of Japingka, an important ''jila'' or permanent waterhole in the Great Sandy Desert, and grew up as a hunter-gatherer. ...

Alexis Wright Alexis Wright (born 25 November 1950) is an Aboriginal Australian writer. She is best known for winning the Miles Franklin Award for her 2006 novel '' Carpentaria''. She was the first writer to win the Stella Prize twice, in 2018 for her "colle ...

, Bronwyn Bancroft, Jack Davis,

Bill Neidjie Big Bill Neidjie ( – 23 May 2002), nicknamed "Kakadu Man", was the last surviving speaker of the Gaagudju language, an Aboriginal Australian language from northern Kakadu, after which Kakadu National Park is named. He was an elder of the ...

, Stephen Hagan, Jack Davis,

Jimmy Chi James Ronald Chi (1948 – 26 June 2017) was an Australian composer, musician and playwright. His best known work is the 1990 musical ''Bran Nue Dae'', which was adapted for film in 2009. Early life and education James Ronald Chi was born in B ...

and

Bruce Pascoe Bruce Pascoe (born 1947) is an Australian writer of literary fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays and children's literature. As well as his own name, Pascoe has written under the pen names Murray Gray and Leopold Glass. Pascoe identifies as Abor ...

. In May 2020, Magabala won the Small Publisher of the Year award at the

Australian Book Industry Awards The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) are publishers' and literary awards held by the Australian Publishers Association (APA) annually in Australia since 2001. The awards celebrate "the achievements of authors and publishers in bringing Au ...

and again in 2024. The Magabala Fellowship, first launched in August 2020 and valued at A$10,000, is open to First Nations writers who have had at least one book published. Winners include Tristan Michael Savage in 2020, Sue McPherson and

Charmaine Papertalk Green Charmaine Papertalk Green (born 1962) is an Indigenous Australian poet. As Charmaine Green she works as a visual and installation artist. Green is a Yamaji woman, born in 1962 at Eradu near Geraldton in Western Australia. On International W ...

in 2021,

Vivienne Cleven Vivienne Cleven (born 1968) is an Indigenous Australian fiction author of the Kamilaroi people. Her writing includes the novels ''Bitin' Back'' and ''Her Sister's Eye''. Early life and education Born in 1968 in Surat, Queensland, Vivienne Clev ...

in 2022 and Brenton McKenna in 2023.

References

External links

* Broome, Western Australia Book publishing companies of Australia Indigenous Australian mass media {{Publish-stub

See also

References

External links