Wominjeka yearmann koondee biik Wurundjeri balluk
Welcome to the land of the Wurundjeri people.
First Nation stories for every member of your family-from toddlers to 90 year olds. Funny, futuristic, moving, historical, dystopian, linguistic, arty, outraged and wise — fact and fiction are both sold in our bookshop with pride and a hope that we can put racism away from our hearts and minds as we learn to act with understanding and an urgency to right the wrongs of history, all too recent injustices, policies, and habits of stereotypical thoughts. We are privileged to have within the covers of these books knowledge from an ancient past that ties us closer to landscape and the country we call Australia.
Enclave by Claire G. Coleman
Christine could not sleep, she could not wake, she could not think. She stared, half-blind, at the cold screen of her smartphone. She was told the Agency was keeping them safe from the dangers outside, an outside world she would never see. The enclave was the only world she knew, the world outside was not safe. Staying or leaving was not a choice she had the power to make. But then Christine dared start thinking . . . and from that moment, danger was everywhere. In our turbulent times, Claire G. Coleman’s Enclave is a powerful dystopian allegory that confronts the ugly realities of racism, homophobia, surveillance, greed and privilege and the self-destructive distortions that occur when we ignore our shared humanity.
This All Come Back Now edited by Mykaela Saunders
The first-ever anthology of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speculative fiction – written, curated, edited and designed by blackfellas, for blackfellas and about blackfellas. In these stories, ‘this all come back’: all those things that have been taken from us, that we collectively mourn the loss of, or attempt to recover and revive, as well as those that we thought we’d gotten rid of, that are always returning to haunt and hound us
Some writers summon ancestral spirits from the past, while others look straight down the barrel of potential futures, which always end up curving back around to hold us from behind. Dazzling, imaginative and unsettling, This All Come Back Now centres and celebrates communities and culture. It’s a love letter to kin and country, to memory and future-thinking.
With the Falling of the Dusk by Stan Grant
Stan Grant is one of our foremost observers and chroniclers of the world in crisis. Weaving his personal experiences of reporting from the front lines of the world’s flashpoints, together with his deep understanding of politics, history and philosophy, he explores what is driving the world to crisis and how it might be averted. He fears the worst, but begins to chart the way forward. There is bitterness, anger and history here, but there is also the capacity for negotiation, forgiveness and hope. A powerful and incisive analysis of the state of our world, and our place within it.
Am I Black Enough For You? by Anita Heiss
In this heartfelt and revealing memoir, told in Heiss’s distinctive, wry style, with large doses of humour, she gives a first-hand account of her experiences as a woman with an Aboriginal mother and Austrian father. Anita explains the development of her activist consciousness, how she has become a happy and healthy cultural disruptor, and the work she undertakes every day to ensure the world she leaves behind will contain more understanding and be more equitable than it is today.
Black and Blue by Veronica Gorrie
After watching her friends and family suffer under a deeply compromised law-enforcement system, Gorrie signed up for training to become one of a rare few Aboriginal police officers in Australia. In her ten years in the force, she witnessed appalling institutional racism and sexism, and fought past those things to provide courageous and compassionate service to civilians in need, many Aboriginal themselves. Here Gorrie frankly and movingly explores the impact of racism on her family and her life, the impact of intergenerational trauma resulting from cultural dispossession, and the inevitable difficulties of making her way as an Aboriginal woman in the white-and-male-dominated workplace of the police force.
Homeland Calling edited by Ellen van Neerven
This poetry collection is the result of young artists exploring their place in the world and expressing the future they want to live in. Organised into four sections, ‘Country is my heartbeat’, ‘History is in my bloodline’, ‘Flame in the struggle’ and ‘Pride in my people’, the words of these deadly, young poets offer wider Australia a rare insight into their thoughts, hopes and dreams.
Arelhekenhe Angkentye: Women’s Talk
This anthology of poems was written by twenty-one Arrernte women from the heart of the continent in Mparntwe Alice Springs around the theme of the NT Writers Festival 2019, Lyapirtneme.
‘A one of a kind collection of all-Arrernte, all-women poetry threaded with love for family, culture and each other. Sharing in some small way in these distinct lives, brimming with heart and struggle and spirit, is a delight and absolute privilege.’ — Fiona Dorrell
All My Fat Country by Rod Moss
All My Fat Country is an exhibition of large scale graphite drawings by nationally recognised and renowned artist and award winning author, Rod Moss. Moss has articulated not only the rock, earth, vegetation, sky and places where water moves and holds, but has also rendered an intimacy with these places and the personal histories interwoven with them.
“Rod Moss’ luminous drawings are born out of decades of intimate relationship, conversation, engagement, and profound friendship with Arrernte peoples and their beloved country”. – Arnold Zable
Mabu Mabu: An Australian Kitchen Cookbook by Nornie Bero
In Mabu Mabu, charismatic First Nations chef Nornie Bero champions the tastes of native flavours in everyday cooking by unlocking the secrets of Australian herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits. The title –meaning ‘help yourself’ – reflects Nornie’s approach to cooking: simple, accessible, delicious, and colourful! Nornie also shares her knowledge of foraging, sourcing and substitutions, as well as the story of her formative years foraging, fishing and cooking alongside her beloved father on Mer.
Guardians (#1 Wylah the Koorie Warrior) by Jordan Gould and Richard Pritchard
Wylah is brave, clever and strong-willed, and all her best friends are giant megafauna animals.But she isn’t a warrior. Not yet, anyway.Then comes the day when her family is stolen by the dragon army, and her life is forever changed. She must find the courage to set out on a journey to save them.What will it take for Wylah to become a warrior, like her Grandmother before her?Introducing an unforgettable cast of characters, Wylah The Koorie Warrior is a heart-stopping and imaginative adventure, inspired by First Nations history and grounded in culture.
My Spare Heart by Jared Thomas
Phoebe’s non-Indigenous mother, and her father, an Aboriginal man, have split up and she’s forced to move in with him and his new health-obsessed girlfriend. Her new school is full of hippies, but some of the kids are cool and the local basketball team is tight, and before long Phoebe’s fitting in. But as her mum becomes increasingly unreliable, Phoebe’s grades begin to suffer, her place on the basketball team is under threat and her worries spiral out of control. How can she help her mum without tearing her family apart?
luwa tara luwa waypa by Dave mangenner Gough
niyakara is leaving the village to hunt tara, kangaroo. With rhythmic intensity, luwa tara luwa waypa tells the captivating story of niyakara’s journey from boy to man, a story of courage and transformation.Dave mangenner Gough’s powerful words and Samantha Campbell’s expressive artwork bring to vivid life the ancestral spirit and enduring strength of the palawa people of Tasmania.
Our Home, Our Heartbeat by Adam Briggs
Adapted from Briggs’ celebrated song ‘The Children Came Back‘, Our Home, Our Heartbeat is a celebration of past and present Indigenous legends, as well as emerging generations, and at its heart honours the oldest continuous culture on earth.
Junior Atlas of Indigenous Australia
The Atlas visually represents patterns of human activities in space and time, from over 60,000 years ago to the present time. It covers an extensive range of topics, such as deep history, Indigenous mapping, material culture, cultural and religious life, art, sport, language, environment and Country, social justice, education and health and wellbeing.The 130 maps, which form the core of the book, are supplemented by easy-to-read explanatory text and over 165 photographs, artworks, illustrations, charts and graphs.
For lots more titles to suit any school library or family home do come and talk to us at Eltham Bookshop, 970 Main Road, Eltham.