Publisher's synopsis
Dr Anita Heiss writes non-fiction, commercial women’s fiction, children’s literature and poetry. She is a fierce advocate and is known for her social commentary. A proud member of the Wiradjuri nation of central NSW, Anita is also a Lifetime Ambassador of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, an Advocate for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, an Ambassador of Worowa Aboriginal College, and an Adjunct Professor with Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at UTS.
Anita’s literary career kicked of with Sacred Cows (1995). Since then, her non-fiction works include writing Am I Black Enough for You? (2012) and editing the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature (2008). She has published six novels, including Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms (2016), Tiddas (2014), Paris Dreaming (2011), Manhattan Dreaming (2010), Avoiding Mr Right (2008) and Not Meeting Mr Right (2007). Anita also published a poetry collection, I’m Not Racist, But… (2007), as well as the children’s books Yirra and her Deadly Dog, Demon (2007) and Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney, 1937 (2001). Anita’s also published two football inspired works, Kicking Goals with Goodesy and Magic (2016) and Matty’s Comeback (2016).
Resources
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- Read the show notes and transcript here.
- Find more information about Anita Heiss’ book Dhuuluu-Yala: To Talk Straight here.
Dr Anita Heiss is an internationally published, award-winning author of 23 books; non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction and children’s novels. She is a proud member of the Wiradyuri Nation of central New South Wales, an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the GO Foundation, and Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland. Anita is also the Publisher at Large of Bundyi, an imprint of Simon & Schuster cultivating First Nations talent, and a board member of the National Justice Project and Circa Contemporary Circus. As an artist in residence at La Boite Theatre, she adapted her novel Tiddas for the stage. It premiered at the 2022 Brisbane Festival and was produced by Belvoir St for the Sydney Festival in 2024.
Her novel, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, about the Great Flood of Gundagai, won the 2022 NSW Premier’s Indigenous Writer’s Prize and was shortlisted for the 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize and the 2022 ABIA Awards. Anita’s first children’s picture book is Bidhi Galing (Big Rain), also about the Great Flood of Gundagai. Anita enjoys running, eating chocolate and being a creative disruptor.
Photo by Morgan Roberts, courtesy of Simon & Schuster
