Author(s): Reagan Stutley

Indigenous

Early in 2010 supported by RADF funds the Librarians and Black Ink Press worked with a group of secondary students who came to the Thuringowa library after school every Friday. Encouraged by several Indigenous writers and illustrators, and resourced by Black Ink Press coordinator Jeanie Adams, these young people each developed a story they wanted to tell young readers. From a simple storyboard grew a manuscript and a series of bright, lively illustrations, or in one case black-and-white drawings. Later they continued on at the Black Ink Press office. The stories they tell are all quite different but all reflect their own lives. The danger of swimming in a flooded creek; the pain and wondering that follows the loss of a sibling; or the imaginary tale of a toy boat rescued by the animals. These are authentic young Indigenous voices communicating to the young readers of Australia.