First Nations stories are set to reach a wider audience and a new generation of readers with the release of a series of eight award-winning books by UQP that span fiction, memoir, poetry and non-fiction. The First Nations Classics have been selected to underscore the diversity of work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, and each book has been introduced by a prominent Indigenous author, artist or performer.
At the helm of the project is Yasmin Smith, the series editor, as well as a writer and poet of South Sea Islander, Northern Cheyenne, Kabi Kabi and English heritage. ArtsHub reached out to Smith to learn more about this series.
‘The First Nations Classics were launched to revive and honour some of UQP’s incredible backlist of Indigenous writing. Many of our backlist titles are timeless, of clear cultural importance and deserve a contemporary readership,’ she says.
‘They were designed to celebrate the legacy of ground-breaking First Nations writing, across a range of genres, authors and generations, and bring attention to these books individually and as a collectable series,’ Smith continues, adding that she hopes the collection will ‘provide a renewed appetite, a greater awareness and an thoughtfulness towards Indigenous stories and culture’.
The first instalment consists of:
- Blood by Tony Birch, with an introduction by Larissa Behrendt OA
- Holocaust Island by Graeme Dixon, with an introduction by Ali Cobby Eckermann
- Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington AM with an introduction by Tara June Winch
- Don’t Take Your Love to Town by Ruby Langford Ginibi with an introduction by Nardi Simpson
- Purple Threads by Jeanine Leane with an introduction by Evelyn Araluen
- Heat and Light by Ellen van Neerven, with an introduction by Alison Whittaker
- The Window Seat by Archie Weller, with an introduction by Ernie Dingo AM, and
- Unbranded by Herb Wharton, with an introduction by Kev Carmody.
Given the breadth of Indigenous writers across the decades, Smith says it wasn’t easy to select the featured authors for this first drop, but explains her choices thus: ‘We chose iconic works of fiction including Tony Birch’s Blood, Ellen van Neerven’s Heat and Light and Jeanine Leane’s Purple
Threads, which are all significant, award-winning books. But we also wanted to spotlight books
like Herb Wharton’s outback novel Unbranded and Archie Weller’s short story collection, The
Window Seat, which may not be as well-known, but are outstanding literary gems.
‘The extraordinary biographies by two First Nations legacy writers, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by
Doris Nugi Garimara Pilkington and Don’t Take Your Love to Town by Ruby Langford Ginibi,
have been bestsellers since their release. To honour the long-standing list of First Nations poets,
we unearthed the inaugural winner of the David Unaipon Award, Holocaust Island, a poetry
collection penned from Fremantle Prison by Noongar poet Graeme Dixon.’
But this is only the first instalment. The publisher is planning to release a second set of First Nations Classics in 2023, with another eight books from different authors, once again spread across a range of genres.
For the cover design, artist Jenna Lee, a Larrakia, Wardaman and Karajarri woman, has created a unifying aesthetic with an interplay of colour and pattern. Smith sings the designer’s praises: ‘Jenna specialises in culturally informed book cover design, exhibition identification and catalogue design for the arts sector, and was the recipient of the Australian Book Designer Association’s Deb Brash Emerging Designer of the Year Award in 2023,’ she says.
‘UQP has proudly worked with Jenna over many years, and are continually impressed by her
outstanding talent to create striking covers for our books, including Dropbear, Whisper
Songs, This All Come Back Now and Me, Her, Us. Jenna independently designed the First
Nations Classics to showcase the vibrancy, diversity and nuance of First Nations authors, their
voices and the important stories they share. The covers are recognisable as a collective set, but
still allow for individuality with unique colour combinations and illustrative motifs giving readers a
window into the story within.’
Published in the lead-up to NAIDOC week, the First Nations Classics will be celebrated in a joint partnership between The Wheeler Centre and Blak & Bright during a gala event in July that will feature a number of its authors and contributors.
The initial series of First Nations Classics are available now from UQP.
