Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Industry prepares for Indigenous Literacy Day tomorrow

The 11th Indigenous Literacy Day will take place around Australia on Wednesday 6 September.

This year the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is hoping to raise $200,000 to help buy 20,000 new books for remote communities.

Individuals and organisations can participate by making a donation on the ILF website, holding a Great Book Swap, or donating a percentage of their organisation’s sales from 6 September.

Four major Indigenous Literacy Day events will be held in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne with ILF ambassadors and students from 15 remote communities.

In Sydney, ambassadors Josh Pyke, Anita Heiss and Alison Lester will join elders and students from Yakanarra in WA to launch their book Yakanarra Song Book, which celebrates 14 beautiful songs written in Walmajarri language.

In Melbourne, ambassadors Andy Griffiths and Jared Thomas will join students from the Tiwi Islands to launch their book Shallow in the Deep End, the tale of a water buffalo who thinks he is a pet dog.

In Perth, ambassadors Ann James and Gregg Dreise will join students from four remote communities—Tjuntjuntjara, Mt Margaret, Laverton and Menzies—to launch and perform I Open the Door, a collection of imaginative stories all that begin and end with opening a door.

In Brisbane, patron Quentin Bryce and founder Suzy Wilson will join students from some of Queensland’s most isolated communities to launch Two Ways Strong, a story is inspired by their experience boarding at Concordia Lutheran College.

For more information about Indigenous Literacy Day, click here.

Pictured: Students celebrate ILD in 2015 (photo credit: Prudence Upton)

 

Category: Local news