Indigenous Writers’ Prize

Melissa Lucashenko is a multi-award winning Bundjalung novelist from Brisbane. She is a Walkley Award winner for her non-fiction writing and a founding member of human rights group Sisters Inside.  

Ambelin Kwaymullina belongs to the Palyku people of the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia. She is a writer, illustrator and law academic who works across a range of genres including YA, science fiction, verse and non-fiction. 

Cathy Craigie is a Gamilaraay and Anaiwon woman from Northern NSW. She grew up in a large extended family from Moree and across Northern NSW and has worked in Aboriginal Affairs for over thirty years. She is passionate about Aboriginal capacity and community development utilising the arts and she tries to combine the two together in much of her work.  

Cathy is currently a cultural advisor and works on projects primarily on First Nations arts and cultures. She has held positions in Government and community sectors at local, state, national and international levels. Cathy has a passion for storytelling and giving a voice to First Nations people and has used her work in the cultural industries to enhance this. She is a founding member of First Nations Australia Writers Network and the inaugural Executive Director. Her passion for Literature also extends to her writing. She has worked on plays, childrens’ stories, commissioned essays and culturally based stories.