Celebrating First Nations stories

Broome’s iconic publisher Magabala Books brings brilliant books to the conversation.

While in Broome, pay a visit to Australia’s leading Indigenous publisher and winner of the 2023 Oceania Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year.

Magabala Books has been celebrating and supporting First Nations stories for over 30 years, from social histories, poetry and memoirs, to children’s picture books, graphic novels and fiction. “We may be biased,” says Magabala Books publisher Rachel Bin Salleh, “but we think Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writing is the most dynamic, exciting and impressive literature published in Australia.”

Guided by strong cultural principles and a passion for quality literature, Magabala is named after the Nyul Nyul, Nyangumarta, Karajarri and Yawuru language word for ‘bush banana’.

“The bush banana spreads its seeds far and wide,” says Rachel. “The organisation was established in 1984 at a traditional Aboriginal song and dance festival held at Ngumpan near Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia, specifically to protect the rights of storytellers and artists and ensure Aboriginal stories were recorded and shared with future generations.

“When someone buys one of our books, they invest in First Nations creative, cultural and economic futures.”

Magabala Books publishes up to 15 titles a year. Its impressive resume of award-winning titles includes Bruce Pascoe’s best-selling Dark Emu and Young Dark Emu, Black Cockatoo by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler, and Bindi by Kirli Saunders, the most awarded book in the Publisher’s history.