Tylissa Elisara and the little wombat who healed hearts
By State Library of Queensland | 16 April 2025
Tylissa Elisara, 2021 black&write! Fellow, with her award-winning middle-grade novel, Wurrtoo: The Wombat Who Fell in Love with the Sky. Photo by Josie Huang.
Tylissa Elisara has shed tears of joy at children’s reactions to her middle-grade novel about a reclusive hairy-nosed wombat from the 55th burrow of Bushland Avenue, Kangaroo Island.
Tylissa wrote Wurrtoo: The Wombat Who Fell in Love with the Sky for her now-teenage son, Jaxon, to instil a sense of pride in his First Nations heritage. At Jaxon’s urging to have it published, she applied for and won a black&write! Writing Fellowship.
Hachette published her book, which went on to win The Readings Children's Prize 2024 for best new contribution to Australian children’s literature from an emerging author.
‘I have come home after sharing the story with a few schools, and I’ve sobbed when telling Jaxon about some of the beautiful reactions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who felt excited or incredibly proud to share their culture with me in front of their class,’ says Tylissa, a former social worker who is of Narungga, Kaurna and Adnyamathanha descent.
Wurrtoo is one of 19 books published so far through State Library of Queensland’s nationally recognised writing and editing program for First Nations storytellers.
Each year, 2 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writers are awarded $15,000 in prize money, editorial manuscript development with First Nations editors at black&write! and a publication opportunity.
‘There are not enough words to express how life changing and wonderful the black&write! project and the team are,’ says Tylissa, who was born and raised on Mamu Country in Innisfail.
‘I wouldn’t be a published author if it weren’t for their unwavering support and mind-blowing knowledge and expertise. I have nothing but immense gratitude that they gave me a chance.’
Wurrtoo, illustrated by Dylan Finney, is about facing your fears. Tylissa shares how she faced hers ...
Wurrtoo: The Wombat Who Fell in Love with the Sky. Photo by Farley Ward.
Children’s story rises from racism
‘The seed for writing a story with positive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation came when I had my son. I was a teen mother at the time, and I was used to receiving dirty looks and comments in public. However, when my son was only 2, we walked into a service station, and I told him to pick out any lolly he wanted. This woman who worked there walked past us, took one look at the colour of my baby's skin, and mumbled something racist about him. I was devastated and dreaded going out in public after this horrible experience.’
‘It still sticks with me today. It made me anxious about what my child would experience as he grew older.’
‘I felt like I was rewriting a piece of history for my son’
‘Negative discourse about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and all people of colour is still prevalent in Australia. It shows in the negative or lack of representation in classic Australian children's stories. Children need resources like Wurrtoo to counter these discourses, especially if they don't have an adult in the home who is already supporting these critical conversations. I want my babies to feel proud of their culture and strong in their identity. At the time, in the slightest way, I felt like I was rewriting a piece of history for my son, and I am so grateful more children now have the chance to read the story.’
Tylissa at the black&write! Fellowship announcement in 2022. Photo by Farley Ward.
A dream come true in the food court
‘I got the call that I was successful for one of the black&write! fellowships when I was sitting in a food court with my husband, my son, and my baby daughter. I started shaking and crying. It didn't feel real at all. It was a pretty rough draft; it was the first manuscript I had written, and I had only been writing for a little while, so I was just so humbled and grateful and felt validated in my (what I thought were crazy) dreams of becoming an author. My son had the opposite reaction. He became super withdrawn and looked sad. We are still not sure if he was just overwhelmed by my intense emotions or if he changed his mind about sharing Wurrtoo with the world, which was hilarious because he was the one who encouraged me to have the story published in the first place. He is 13 now, and I know he is super proud. I always remind him that if it weren't for him coming into my life at the time he did, none of this would be possible.’
Classic for culture
‘The response to the book has been incredible. I was so anxious about what people would think about my writing, but people have been so kind. It has completely restored my faith in humanity after my earlier experiences as a very young mum. I have had people from various backgrounds and professions reach out to me via social media or at events and share the most beautiful words about the story. However, my favourite reactions have been from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have shared that the story healed a part of their inner child and they wished they had seen our culture represented in the classic stories they read while growing up.’
The thing I love most about being a published author ...
‘The school visits! I used to have severe social anxiety where I would become super clumsy and break into a sweat to even enter a supermarket (or service station). So, public speaking is something I never thought I could achieve, let alone enjoy. I absolutely adore the children's reactions. I've wanted to become an author since I was 7, and I see myself in their little, enthusiastic faces.’
‘I wish I had the time to individually sit down with each and every one of the children who want to become an author and tell them they can do it, as long as they hold on to their dreams.’
Doing good work
‘For the past year, I have been working as a policy officer for the Department of Child Safety. I started the role on my beautiful little sister’s birthday. She has experiences in care herself, and I felt like it was a nod from God/our ancestors/the universe that I was on the right path. I chose policy because of my experiences as a youth worker and kinship carer, and I want to work towards positive change. My team and colleagues are all like-minded in sharing these same goals, and it is just the most incredibly supportive and rewarding place to work.’
Finding a place for Kuula
‘My oldest daughter occasionally asks me when I will write her a story about Kuula (Wurrtoo’s koala companion), and I would love nothing more. I have been completing my master’s and am working full-time while raising my 3 children with my husband, so the real challenge is just finding the time. There is a lot more pressure now, knowing that it could be published.’
Author Tylissa Elisara.
Tylissa’s top 5 tips for aspiring writers
1 Read, read, read! Keep a notebook of words or phrases that had an impact on you and got you to feel.
2 Keep going when your story gets messy or isn't reading the way you'd like it to. I would have given up and convinced myself I couldn't write if I had attempted to edit my manuscript without the black&write! team, who offered their continual reassurance.
3 Be kind to yourself and don't be shame. Often, we are our own biggest critics and it’s hard to read your own writing as a reader. You would be surprised by the feedback you'll receive once you finally allow others to read your work.
4 Start somewhere! I couldn't afford a flash laptop, so I bought a Microsoft Surface Go, which was tiny and on special because it had imperfections. I wrote my entire manuscript on there and almost completed a whole master's degree before it finally gave up on me.
5 Be confident in what you can bring to the literary world. You hold the power of having your own niche perspective that only you can offer.
Some of the titles published as a result of black&write! fellowships.
About black&write!
black&write! has grown a community of writers across the literary landscape who have achieved immense individual success, from recognition through literary awards to titles sold into international markets, adapted for television or included in state education and university curricula. Ten First Nations people have completed editing internships.
Managed by State Library since 2011, the program provides an industry-leading pathway to publication with sustained investment through Creative Australia and the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.
This year, Hachette has published middle-grade novels by black&write! fellows Lisa Fuller (Washpool) and Tania Crampton-Larking (Brightest Wild), and will publish Jasmin McGaughey's debut young adult novel, Moonlight and Dust, in July 2025. University of Queensland Press joins black&write! as publishing partner from 2026.
Apply: Could you or someone you know be the next black&write! writing fellow or intern editor?
Buy or borrow Wurrtoo: The Wombat Who Fell in Love with the Sky.
Read remarkable Queensland stories like Tylissa’s in State Library’s annual Highlights magazine.
The Corner Big Day Out
Join story time with Tylissa at The Corner Big Day Out on Saturday 26 April. From 10 am to 2 pm, State Library of Queensland will become a giant playground packed with free activities, and performances featuring Justine Clarke, dirtgirl and Common People Dance Project.
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