Edition 28 

Salutations for the New Year FNAWNees, as we farewell 2019 I have been reflecting upon a year of our award-winning poets, authors, illustrators and storytellers who have shared across the First Nation publishing diaspora of 2019 – what a year it has been. Truly a mesmerising literary year heralding state, territory and national award-winning First Nation writers across the genres as you continue to cement your presence, stories and diverse voices from across the nations into every chapter of Australian literature. 2020 is shaping up to be a year of further accelerating publishing celebrations from our FNAWNees’ as we prepare for the coming months among writers festivals throughout Australia. Multiple FNAWNee’s are already engaged with their publishing releases just around the corner, we are very much looking forward to promoting their creative works nationally and internationally. FNAWN will be updating our members with a plethora of opportunities, fellowships, publishing opportunities month by month in 2020.
 
This year FNAWN will be delivering our monthly newsletters from each of our Board Directors commencing with John Harding who has graciously taken up the good news stories for the month of January. In turn I will present February’s newsletter and then pass it on to another one of our Directors in March. As our membership for FNAWN continues to grow the opportunity for our Directors to echo their creative voices and update on topics of all things publishing and writing that matter to them is a solid collegial platform to engage directly with our members.
 
An extract from an article that may be of interest for our members:
 
Indigenous literature has been one of the top-performing categories for local booksellers in 2019, and international publishers are noticing a similar increase in interest for books written by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander authors. Broede Carmody – Sydney Morning Herald. Read the entire article here.

I would personally like to express personal and professional gratitude to our Board Directors and Patron of FNAWN 2019 for all their time and commitment to FNAWN. And thank outgoing Board members Charmaine Papertalk Green and Sharon Mununggurr. Your loyalty, time and dedication to FNAWN was very much appreciated throughout the year. 

As we move forward in 2020 with much enthused anticipation we also reflect on the devastating loss of lives, homes, livelihoods, businesses, livestock, native animals and the overall environmental impact on the Australian way of life that has besieged our nation over the last couple of months with unprecedented and catastrophic fires. Our thoughts and prayers are with those in these times of great loss.
 
In Unity & Strength, Yvette
Chairperson FNAWN