Kirli Saunders is a proud Gunai woman, and an author of poetry, plays and books, including Bindi, Kindred and The Incredible Freedom Machines. She is a teacher, cultural consultant and artist, and developed the Poetry in First Languages program, delivered by Red Room Poetry. Kirli has won several writing awards, and was named the 2020 NSW
I’ve always felt conflicted about today, “Australia Day”. I am so grateful to have been born in Australia, and to have so many opportunities and blessings that people in many other countries don’t have – and that, unfortunately, many people here, our Indigenous people, do not have. Australia has a brutal history of invasion, land
Someone asked for some recommendations of books to read by First Nations authors, so here are some that I read in 2020 and early 2021. There are many many more – let me know if you have any favourites and I'll add them to my TBR list... Living On Stolen Land by Ambelin Kwaymullina Who
The start of a new year is always a somewhat nostalgic time, as I reflect on the year just gone, and what I’d hoped to achieve – but I don’t think there’s a single person on the planet who could have predicted their 2020! At first, I was disappointed that I didn’t achieve much this
Hooray! I hit my 52-Books-A-Year, Book-A-Week goal at the end of September, and ended up reading more than 70 books by December 31. So many amazing reads this month, including Tiddas by Anita Heiss, Pages and Co: Tilly and the Book Wanderers by Anna James, and A Song Below Water by Bethany C Morrow. I
Litha : Summer Solstice : Fruition The summer solstice falls around December 21 or 22 in the southern hemisphere – you can check the timings for where you live here – and June 20 or 21 in the northern hemisphere. It’s the longest day and the shortest night of the year, with the sun rising
Yule : Winter Solstice : Rebirth The winter solstice falls around December 21 or 22 in the northern hemisphere – you can check the timing for you here – and around June 21 or 22 in the southern hemisphere. It’s the longest night and the shortest day of the year, and marks the transition between
November was NaNoWriMo month, so I didn’t get a chance to read as much as I’d like to, but it was for a good cause (I hope!)... Took the Children Away (60 of 52) by Archie Roach is a gorgeous book, which combines the lyrics of his iconic song with beautiful illustrations by Archie’s late wife
Hooray! On November 30, close to midnight, I “won” my ninth NaNoWriMo. Nothing like leaving it til the very last minute 😂 But I hit just over 50,000 words on my NaNo project, which will be the companion novel to The Snow Queen’s Daughter. It’s not finished yet, but the story is weaving together, and
October started and ended with two awesome magical reads, Darkness Unknown, the first book in Selina Fenech’s new paranormal trilogy Beshadowed, and Last Born Daughter, the third book in Kastie Pavlik’s series Children of the Morningstar. Inbetween were many versions of Little Red Riding Hood, as well as some scholarly musings on this popular faery
Tomorrow is release day for Fairytale Christmas, the box-set of reimagined faery tales that includes 15 brand new stories from some wonderful authors from around the world. Order it here, or read it free in KU. My story, The Snow Queen’s Daughter, began with the question at the heart of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow
I’m part of a box set of reimagined faery tales, Fairytale Christmas, alongside K. A. Last and a bunch of American and Canadian writers. It’s on sale November 1, but you can pre-order it here now. Here is the blurb. Fairy lights, mistletoe and cozy nights by the fire… Delve into this spellbinding Fairytale Christmas
Beltane : First Day of Summer : Growth Beltane, the festival of love and fertility that marks the end of spring and the start of the heat and energy of summer, falls in early November in the southern hemisphere, and early May in the northern hemisphere. In 2020 it falls on November 8 in Australia – although
Samhain : First Day of Winter : Death Samhain, the festival of the ancestors and the dead that marks the beginning of winter, falls in early May in the southern hemisphere and early November in the northern hemisphere – and on October 31 in popular culture, where it is celebrated as Halloween. This year in
This month’s Australian Fairy Tale Society faery tale is Little Red Riding Hood – and it’s fascinating just how many versions there are. In some, she and her grandmother are eaten by the wolf, and that’s the end of the story. In some she is the victim, rescued by the huntsman or woodcutter. In others
In September I had two big deadlines, so I didn’t get to read as much as I would have liked, and three of the four were related to our research/discussion for the Australian Fairy Tale Society’s stories – this month we were investigating Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortune and The Girl Who Pretended To Be
On this day and night of the dark of the moon (Friday October 16 in Australia), I’m wishing you much love, bravery and awareness as you embrace the magic of introspection and what it can reveal to you. This is a powerful time to reflect on your year, and your self, and to look within,
August was a wonderful mix of important stories, gorgeous fantasy, a nostalgic hit, and faery tales and faery tale reimaginings. An Enchantment of Ravens (47 of 52) by Margaret Rogerson is a lovely, magical tale of faeries and humans, forbidden love, sweet romance, a desperate quest, and an enchanting, gorgeously described world with flawed characters and
Jasmine Seymour is a Darug woman from the Hawkesbury area of NSW. A writer, artist and primary school teacher, she is the author of Cooee Mittigar, which introduces us to the plants, animals and seasons of Darug Country and language; author and artist of Baby Business, about a ceremony to welcome a baby to Country;
July was a fascinating month for books, and online book launches. Living On Stolen Land (40 of 52) by Ambelin Kwaymullina is a short, powerful book that *everyone* should read (although sadly those who most need to hear these words of wisdom – including politicians, police and policy makers – will turn away again). It’s
