Stories That Connect Us: First Nations Reads for Reconciliation Week

Published on 13 May 2026

National Reconciliation Week is around the corner. The dates for NRW remain the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision  respectively.

Reading First Nations authors provides a portal to new perspectives, knowledges and understandings of relationships to each other, to Country and even to history. Here’s a short list of First Nations authors you’re going to want to read (if you haven’t already).

A piece of red cloth : a novel from Arnhem Land
Leonie Norrington, Djawundil Maymuru, Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs and Djawa Burarrwanga

A powerful, unique novel based on the oral history of the Yolngu people from north-east Arnhem Land that tells the story of a grandmother who stops at nothing to protect her granddaughter. It's early in the wet season. A flock of crested terns sweeps into the bay and dives towards Batjani. The birds are saying the foreigners are coming, as they do every year, but why are they so full of menace? Batjani's beloved granddaughter Garritji is on the cusp of womanhood, about to go through the rituals preparing her for marriage. Batjani uses all means at her disposal to protect her granddaughter from the visiting Macassan trepang fishers, but she is betrayed. Can Garritji be saved? This powerful and unique novel is based on oral history and told through Yolngu eyes, with ancestors as the Yolngu remember them: proud, strong, resilient people in control of their world and interacting with foreigners on their own terms.

Words to Sing the World Alive: A Celebration of First Nations Languages
Editor: Jasmin McGaughey

Words to Sing the World Alive showcases and celebrates First Nations languages from across the continent. Forty of the finest First Nations writers come together to reveal their favourite and significant words. Words that are imbued with family, belonging and connection; that explain the rivers and the stars, that explore the essence of mother or mountain, that evoke the power of childhood and the wonder of Country. Join contributors such as Kim Scott, Tara June Winch, Daniel Browning, Terri Janke, Jeanine Leane, Nardi Simpson, Dan Bourchier, Ellen van Neerven, Alice Skye, Bruce Pascoe, Anita Heiss, Thomas Mayo, Evelyn Araluen, Claire G Coleman and Mykaela Saunders as they share Words to Sing the World Alive.

Edenglassie
Melissa Lucashenko

Two extraordinary Indigenous stories set five generations apart. When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Edenglassie, their saltwater people still outnumber the British. As colonial unrest peaks, Mulanyin dreams of taking his bride home to Yugambeh Country, but his plans for independence collide with white justice. Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny. Together they care for obstinate centenarian Grannie Eddie, and sparks fly, but not always in the right direction. What nobody knows is how far the legacies of the past will reach into their modern lives. In this brilliant epic, Melissa Lucashenko torches Queensland's colonial myths, while reimagining an Australian future.

Dirrayawadha
Anita Heiss

Miinaa was a young girl when the white ghosts first arrived. She remembers the day they raised a piece of cloth and renamed her homeland 'Bathurst'. Now she lives at Cloverdale and works for a white family who have settled there. The Nugents are kind, but Miinaa misses her miyagan. Her brother, Windradyne, is a Wiradyuri leader, and visits when he can, bringing news of unrest across their ngurambang. Miinaa hopes the violence will not come to Cloverdale, but she knows Windradyne is prepared to defend their Country if necessary. When Irish convict Daniel O'Dwyer arrives at the settlement, Miinaa's life is transformed again. The pair are magnetically drawn to each other and begin meeting at the bila in secret. Dan understands how it feels to be displaced, but they still have a lot to learn about each other. Can their love survive their differences and the turmoil that threatens to destroy everything around them?

Personal score
Ellen Van Neerven

Award-winning writer Ellen van Neerven plays football from a young age, learning early on that sport can be a painful and exclusive world. The more they play, the more they realise about sport's troubled relationship with race, gender and sexuality and question what it means to play sport on stolen, sovereign land, especially in the midst of multiple environmental crises.With emotional honesty and searing insight, van Neerven shines a light on sport on this continent from a queer First Nations perspective, revealing how some athletes have long challenged mainstream views and used their roles to effect change not only in their own realm, but in society more broadly. Personal Score is a ground-breaking book that confirms, once again, van Neerven's unrivalled talent, courage and originality.

Liar's test
Ambelin Kwaymullina

Bell Silverleaf is a liar. It’s how she’s survived. It’s how all Treesingers have survived since they were invaded by the Risen and their fickle gods. But now Bell is in the Queen’s Test—she’s one of seven girls competing in deadly challenges to determine who will rule for the next twenty-five years. If Bell wins, she’ll have the power to help her people and take revenge on the Risen. But first she has to make it through the challenges alive. She doesn’t know how much she’s been lied to, or where she fits in a bigger story, a mystery stretching back generations. And she’s facing much bigger dangers than the Queen’s Test. She’s up against the gods themselves. "Liar’s Test" is a fast-paced, intricately woven fantasy novel with an unforgettable heroine inspired by the strength and power of Aboriginal women.

Afloat
Kirli Saunders

Roam the water with me. We are here to learn. Here to spin wisdom, to grow. Against a backdrop of a changed environment, an Elder leads a child along the waterways, sharing her People's knowledge and gathering community along the way. Afloat is an uplifting and inspiring picture book that uses the practice of weaving as a powerful metaphor for the honouring and teaching of First Nations wisdom, and the coming together of all people to survive, thrive and create a more hopeful future. 

Big sky : when the emu left the Earth
Bruce Pascoe and Ray Norris

This exquisite study of sky knowledge, Big Sky, is the meeting of science with holistic knowledge, gained from deep observation over thousands of years. In conversation between Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man Bruce Pascoe and astrophysicist Professor Ray Norris, two ways of knowing overlap and interweave to bring our skies alive.

Here's a handy set of tips from the Foundation for Indigenous Sustainable Health for reading First Nations authors:

Beyond The List: How To Engage Respectfully and Discover More

Okay, you've got the list. You're fired up to read. Awesome.

But how you engage matters. Here’s how to do it right:

• Buy Blak (When Possible) & Support Indigenous Storytellers: Make a conscious choice. Seek out Indigenous-owned businesses or clearly specify you want to buy books by Indigenous authors. Every purchase sends a message.
• Listen First, Understand Later: Read with humility and openness. Recognise you might be encountering perspectives, histories, and cultural frameworks that are new to you. Avoid imposing your own assumptions or seeking simple answers to complex issues. Let the story wash over you first.
• Acknowledge the Diversity – It’s HUGE: There is no single "Indigenous experience." This list represents authors from diverse Nations, regions, and backgrounds. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia is incredibly diverse – hundreds of distinct language groups and cultures. Keep exploring to appreciate this richness.
• Understand the Context: Reading reviews or author interviews can sometimes add valuable context, but prioritise the work itself. Be mindful of who is reviewing and from what perspective.
• Go Beyond the Bestsellers: While award-winners are great, seek out debut authors, poets, Elders' stories, community publications. There's a wealth of storytelling out there.
• Engage with Nuance: Discuss these books thoughtfully. Avoid generalisations. Talk about specific themes, characters, and writing styles.