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 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 and it premiered at the 2022
Brisbane Festival.
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) about the Great Flood of Gundagai. Anita enjoys
running, eating chocolate and being a creative disruptor.
‘There are books you encounter as an adult that you wish you could
press into the hands of your younger self. Bila
Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is one of those books – a novel that turns
Australia’s long-mythologised settler history into a raw and
resilient heartsong.’
*Guardian*
‘A heartfelt story of colonisation and its negative effects … A
powerful and affecting tale of Aboriginal people's identity,
community and deep connection to country.’
*Canberra Times*
‘Heiss fuses fiction with realism, conjuring a resonance still felt
in Blak struggle today … packs heart into every page.’
*Saturday Paper*
‘Celebrating family, love, and connection to the land, Bila
Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is a profoundly moving showcase of Heiss’
skill for crafting stories and relationships … A novel that is
intimate, reflective, and impossible to put down.’
*The AU Review*
‘A powerful story of family, place and belonging.’
*Kate Grenville, author of A Room Made of Leaves*
‘Engrossing and wonderful storytelling. I really loved these
strong, brave Wiradyuri characters.’
*Melissa Lucashenko, author of Too Much Lip*
‘A remarkable story of courage and a love of country … Anita Heiss
writes with heart and energy on every page of this novel.’
*Tony Birch, author of The White Girl*
'It is a love story, a story of loss, a hopeful story. The river is
a guide, but you have to be open to its spiritual
lessons.'
*Dr Terri Janke*
‘Lyrical and tender, Anita Heiss’s Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray
tells a story of courage, connection and belonging which is both
universal and deeply personal, with the river singing through every
page. A grand achievement and destined to be read for a long time
to come.’
*Meg Keneally, author of Fled and The Wreck.*
‘Epic storytelling with a deep warmth at its heart ... This story
will stay with me forever.’
*Pamela Hart, author of The Charleston Scandal*
‘The warmest invitation to share the space of landscape and
language, recovery and love.’
*Ashley Hay, author of A Hundred Small Lessons*
‘Anita Heiss is at the height of her storytelling powers in this
inspiring, heart-breaking, profound tale.’
*Larissa Behrendt*
‘The novel flows like the great Murrumbidgee River itself, with
powerful undercurrents that sweep the reader along - I feel it's a
book that all Australians should read, to try and understand why
our colonial past still causes so much pain and grievance.’
*Kate Forsyth, author of The Blue Rose*
‘Anita Heiss is an incredibly masterful stroyteller; weaving
song, language and history into an epic tale of love, loss and
belonging … my favourite of Heiss' novels!’
*Better Read than Dead*
‘Far more relevant than a library bulging with Greenes and
Hemmingways, Heiss’s book is as pulsing as the river that runs
through it … A romance, a history lesson, a language study and a
rollicking read all in one.’
*Courier Mail*
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