State Library of Queensland

Storytelling is at the heart of being human and sparks important connections between audiences and storytellers.   Australia has the oldest continuous storytelling tradition on this planet. But for centuries, the humanity of First Nations peoples has been hidden behind stereotypes, myths and prejudices.  Sovereign Stories: 10 years of black&write! brings together a decade of storytelling from some of Australia’s brightest First Nations voices and explores how writers and editors are driving social change within the publishing industry for future generations.     Delve into the process writers go through, writing inspiration, and what the “mysterious” editing process can involve.   Celebrate a decade of creative collaborations between authors and editors who have been part of the black&write! Project – the first program of its kind – and discover some truly special First Nations stories. 

Join us for a special award ceremony and afternoon tea to welcome our two newest black&write! Fellows. At the ceremony you will hear new work from First Nations writers and experience the Sovereign Stories: 10 years of black&write! exhibition. The black&write! Fellowships offer two Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writers: $10,000 prize, manuscript development with State Library of Queensland’s black&write! editorial team and a publishing opportunity with Hachette Australia. We are pleased to have Tristan Michael Savage as our MC for this event. Tristan is a Brisbane based Writer-Performer, and was a winner of the black&write! fellowship in 2013. black&write! is made possible through generous support from the Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund, The Lionel & Yvonne Spencer Trust, The Brian J Sutton Charitable Trust and the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. We are proud to work with Hachette Australia as the black&write! Fellowship publishing partner.   If you have any questions that aren’t answered here, feel free to contact the State Library of Queensland at Indigenous.Writing@slq.qld.gov.au  Subscribe to be the first to know about our program of events.