Aboriginal Literacy Foundation

28/05/2026

This year's Australian Book Industry Awards have seen many Aboriginal winners, as well as an Indigenous-run publisher.

Of the winners this year, Angie Faye Martin won the New Writer of the Year for her crime thriller Melaleuca, while the oral history A Piece of Red Cloth won the award for Social Impact Book of the Year, by Yolŋu custodians Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs, Djawa Burarrwanga, Djawundil Maymura and author Leonie Norrington.

Other winners were Dr Evelyn Araluen for Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year with The Rot; and Kaylene Whiskey and Natalie King for Illustrated Book of the Year with The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do you believe in love?

The winner for the Book of the Year for Younger Children was Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles, by Ben Williams and Corey Tutt.

Small Publisher of the Year and Children's Publisher of the Year also went to Magabala books, based in Broome, which focuses on Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander authors and illustrators.

Congratulations to everyone who won awards this year!

Indigenous authors and publishers are prominent among those who were honoured on Thursday night at the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards.The Awards were presented by Books+Publishing (B+P), in part...

10/05/2026

Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy has announced a new national vocational centre for First Nations people, named the Indigenous Centre of Vocational Excellence (ICOVE).

"By embedding First Nations voices, leadership and evidence-based practice within the VET system, the centre will strengthen pathways to sustainable economic participation," Minister McCarthy said.

The centre will be run by the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services and the Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative in Sydney, and will focus on creating more employment pathways for Indigenous people in Australia.

A new national Indigenous vocational education body aimed at improving training and employment outcomes for First Nations people will be established under the Federal Government.Named the Indigenous C...

21/04/2026

Ngununggula, an art gallery in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, is exhibiting artworks from woman artists from Tangentyere and Yarrenyty Arltere (Alice Springs region), alongside the work of Arrernte and Kalkadoon artist Thea Anamara Perkins.

The exhibition is titled Old Days, New Days, and focuses on storytelling, representation, and communal art-making. It also includes a new children's book by artist Marjorie Williams, 'Old Days', in the form of an immersive installation.

Ngununggula, the Southern Highlands regional art gallery, has unveiled Old Days, New Days | Arlta-imankinya, Arlta-errama; a major new all-women exhibition bringing together artists from Tangentyere a...

04/04/2026

The photographs of Mununjali and Wangerriburra man Wayne Coolwell, who died last year at age 88, are on display at the State Library of Queensland, showing a half-century of Aboriginal history.

Over his long career as a photographer from the 1960s to the 2000s he took pictures of many significant figures, including Archie Roach, Ernie Dingo, and Neville Bonner, as well as Indigenous communities across Australia and the world.

The showcase can be seen at the State Library from March 28 to mid-October.

Journalist and broadcaster Wayne Coolwell documented years of Indigenous culture with his 35mm camera. The photographs are going on showcase at the State Library.

24/03/2026

NAISDA, the Indigenous dance college founded by dancer Carole Johnson in 1976, has celebrated its 50th anniversary. Originally based in Sydney and later moving to Kariong, the college has focused on teaching dance while incorporating Indigenous methods, and over 5,000 students have attended since its founding.

Kim Walker, one of its first students and now CEO, talks about how the college has affected his life:

"I was a recalcitrant in my youth, going off the rails and losing who I was, but this place gives me purpose," Mr Walker said.

"It changed my life, but it's changed so many people's lives, and not just the dancers and teachers, but the cultural fabric of Australia."

Including its remote and national outreach programs, the college reaches over 300,000 people a year.

Australia's longest-running First Nations dance academy has helped to shape the cultural fabric of the nation.

16/03/2026

Professor MaryAnn Bin-Sallik, a pioneer in Indigenous health and education and the first Aboriginal woman to receive a PhD from Harvard university, died last month aged 85.

From the Djaru people in Western Australia, Bin-Sallik first broke expectations around what Indigenous people 'should' be taught by becoming the first Aboriginal person to be trained as a nurse, at the Royal Darwin Hospital.

From there, she then became interested in education, helping spearhead the South Australian Institute of Technology's first program of Aboriginal education, which would serve as a blueprint across Australia.

She then was accepted to Harvard university, ultimately completing a doctorate in Teaching and Learning. From there she spent a long and dedicated career advocating for Aboriginal people, including serving on human rights boards and across many different universities and institutions. She was also awarded the Order of Australia in 2017.

She said in an interview in 2024 to Western Sydney University:

"Who inspires me now? All the black PhDs. Every black [person] I meet with a PhD inspires me because I know you will be making literature for the next generation."

Her work to further Aboriginal education has been monumental and led to countless opportunities for people across Australia, and we offer our condolences for her passing and respect for her achievements.

MaryAnn Bin-Sallik was the first Aboriginal nurse graduate in Darwin and the first Aboriginal person to receive a PhD at Harvard University. Following her death at age 85, the Djaru Elder is being remembered for her work in Indigenous education, health and human rights.

13/03/2026

Our thoughts are with communities across the Northern Territory and Queensland affected by ongoing floods. Residents of Daly River/Nauiyu are still under an evacuation order as flooding approaches its highest level on record.

NT government says the rent freeze will be ‘applied automatically for eligible housing tenants’ as floodwaters break records in the Big Rivers region

06/03/2026

Remote preschools and primary schools across WA, NT and QLD will have the opportunity to participate in a new play-based program to develop oral English language skills. www.ellic.edu.au

The English Language Learning for Indigenous Children (ELLIC) program, a play-based learning initiative delivered by Education Services, is expanding - giving remote preschools and primary schools acr...

22/02/2026

In 2025, Books to the North reached 156 remote and regional schools in the NT, northern WA, SA and QLD.

Our program delivers over 10,000 books to participating schools throughout the school year.

If you'd like to support our programs and help us send even more books in 2026, please consider donating to the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation at aboriginalliteracyfoundation.org/donate/

14/02/2026

Australia's Parliament House has opened its 2026 'Yarning' competition, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students can share their perspectives and ideas at Parliament House through art.

Students from Year 7 through to Year 12 can apply and submit their work, which can be written, visual, or audio, and there will be nine winners who will be invited to show their work at Parliament House and receive a prize.

Milton Dick, the Speaker of the House, spoke about the program for this year:

"The Yarning Competition is a wonderful new program where we recognise the emerging talent of our First Nations artists and young people from across Australia."

Share via: Facebook X (Twitter) THE Department of the House of Representatives has announced that entries are now open for the 2026 Yarning Competition. ‘Yarning’ is an Australia-wide storytelling competition that invites Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students from across Aus...