In this special panel event, First Nations writers and thinkers draw from a rich tradition of oral and written knowledge-sharing to celebrate the power of Indigenous storytelling. They consider its role in articulating and advancing notions of sovereignty, and share the stories that have shaped them. Gomeroi author Amy Thunig (Tell Me Again: a memoir) and Bundjalung and Widubul-Wiabul author Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts (Long Yarn Short: We are Still Here, to be published in 2024) speak with Gumbaynggirr and Barkindji writer and Blackfulla Bookclub founder Merinda Dutton.
Supported by Oranges & Sardines Foundation.
Amy Thunig (Australian)
Dr Amy Thunig (B.Arts, M.Teach, PhD) is a Gomeroi/Gamilaroi/Kamilaroi yinarr and mother who resides on Awabakal Country. A full-time academic in the field of education, Amy is also an author, with their first book Tell Me Again released in November 2022 via UQP. Amy is a Director at Story Factory in Redfern, contributes on various committees and councils including the AECG, and is a media commentator and panellist, regularly appearing on television programs such as ABC's The Drum.
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts (Australian)
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts is a proud Bundjalung Widbul- Wiabul woman. Her work centres around importance of abolishing child protection in the lives of First Nations communities, and juvenile detention centres that continue to harm the bodies of First Nations children. As a survivor of Out Of Home Care with both historical lived experiences and her very own lived experiences, Vanessa continues to dedicate her work to those still severely impacted by the injustices and the voices that continue to go unheard and silenced. Her commitment to the lives of First Nations people, in particular missing First Nations children, care criminalisation and the pipeline to poverty and media / legal responses to the injustices continue to be at the front of her work. Vanessa has written for The Guardian, Victorian Women’s Trust, Junkee and Indigenous X and continues to use the power of storytelling, writing, advocacy and her professional and personal experiences to share the injustices committed against blak bodies.
Merinda Dutton (Australian)
Merinda Dutton is a Gumbaynggirr and Barkindji woman emerging writer, First Nations critic, and the co-founder of Blackfulla Bookclub, an online community for First Nations stories. In 2019 Dutton was recognised for her legal aid work with Aboriginal community and awarded the National Indigenous Legal Professional of the Year.
