A&U acquires book based on “The Inventors” series

Allen & Unwin has acquired world rights to a book based on the television documentary series The First Inventors, which was written and directed by Larissa Behrendt.

The First Inventors tells the story of the people who made this continent their own through language, song, water and fire over the past 65,000 years, said Allen & Unwin. As author of the book adaptation, Behrendt is joined by Billy Griffiths and Sean Ulm.

“It is a history of innovation, diplomacy and design and a celebration of the survival and resilience of cultural knowledge,” said A&U of the book. “It explores how people managed and engineered entire landscapes – and how they orchestrated seascapes according to the stars, tides and relationships with animal kin.”

Co-commissioned by Network Ten and NITV, the 2023 documentary series was estimated by Mediaweek to have reached more than 2.4 million viewers at the time of screening, with the publication noting that viewership will subsequently have grown via streaming on SBS on Demand and 10Play.

Griffiths said of the book project, “This is what a history of Australia looks like when it has Indigenous perspectives at its heart.”

Publisher Elizabeth Weiss said, “This challenges everything you thought you knew about the deep history of Australia.”

Larissa Behrendt is distinguished professor of law in the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney. Among her previous literary works is After Story (UQP). She chairs the Writing Australia Council.

Billy Griffiths is a writer and historian at Deakin University and the author of Deep Time Dreaming (Black Inc.)

Sean Ulm is distinguished professor of archaeology at James Cook University.

The First Inventors: How People Shaped a Continent is scheduled for release in June 2026.

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions