The Magabala Fellowship, created to support First Nations’ writers, has announced winners Charmaine Papertalk Green and Sue McPherson.
The Magabala Fellowship, worth $10,000, intends to “provide valuable time for a mid-career author to work on a current manuscript.” Established in 2020 and endowed by the Serp Hills Foundation, the award is open to “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers and writers of junior, young adult and adult fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and memoir.”
Magabala Books has announced First Nations’ writers Sue McPherson and Charmaine Papertalk Green as the winners of the 2021 mid-career Magabala Fellowship.
Charmaine Papertalk Green is a visual artist, and writer from the Wajarri, Badimaya, and Southern Yamaji peoples of Mid-West Western Australia. Her recent publications include Nganajungu Yagu (Cordite, 2019), and False Claims of Colonial Thieves (Magabala, 2018).
Thanks to the generous support of the Serp Hills Foundation, we’re delighted to announce the launch of the Magabala Fellowship, worth $10,000: https://t.co/kXw9GqEJSY
— Magabala Books (@MagabalaBooks) August 20, 2020
Of the win, Green, who intends to use the prize money to complete two manuscripts, told Books+Publishing: “I am now very excited about completing both manuscripts. I would like to thank the Magabala Fellowship selection group and Magabala for ongoing support of me as a female Yamaji writer, so very much grateful for the opportunity.“
@IndigenousX lit challenge Day 2: Books on my to-read list. So many … Literally on the pile is Nganajungu Yagu by Charmaine Papertalk Green (Cordite), Guwayu – for all times (Magabala and Red Room Poetry), The White Girl by Tony Birch … #BlakBookChallenge #IndigenousBooks pic.twitter.com/dyyI1OUGo6
— Emilie Collyer (@EmilieCollyer) October 2, 2020
Sue McPherson has written two novels, Grace Beside Me (Magabala, 2012) and Brontide (Magabala, 2018), and with the ongoing support of the Magabala fellowship, intends to write her third, titled Caravan.
Congrats to Magabala author, Sue McPherson, and the team behind the @NITV adaption of her award-winning book #GraceBesideMe, which has been nominated for a 2018 @TVWEEKmag Logie Award for ‘Most Outstanding Children’s Program’. pic.twitter.com/2b6rOLmlTt
— Magabala Books (@MagabalaBooks) May 28, 2018
“We have so many incredible storytellers, I honestly didn’t think ‘Caravan’ (working title) had a chance. Genuine heartfelt thanks to our Magabala family. With your support, I can camp across Country, yarn with Peg (protagonist) uninterrupted, and record her powerful story […] A challenging year, a surreal moment, and now a solid plan for the new year,” McPherson told Books+Publishing.
