Magabala Books is an Indigenous publishing house based in Broome, Western Australia.[1]
It started in the late 1980s[2] and early 1990s.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
The name Magabala is a Yawuru, Karrajari and Nyulnyul word for the bush banana.[9] In 1990, Magabala Books became an independent Aboriginal corporation.[10] Magabala's stated objective is "restoring, preserving and maintaining Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures".[11]
Many prominent Australian Indigenous authors have been published with Magabala Books,[12] including Anita Heiss,[13] Ali Cobby Eckermann, Jimmy Pike, Alexis Wright, Bronwyn Bancroft, Jack Davis, Bill Neidjie, Stephen Hagan, Jack Davis, Jimmy Chi[14] and Bruce Pascoe.[15][16]
The literature ranges from Aboriginal lore,[17][18] children's books,[19] various picture books,[20] as well as oral history of indigenous culture.[21][22]
Magabala Books won the small publisher of the year award at the 2020 Australian Book Industry Awards[23] and again in 2024.[24]
Magabala Fellowship
In August 2020 it launched a mid-career fellowship, valued at A$10,000, for First Nations writers who have had at least one book published.[25]
Winners
- Tristan Michael Savage – 2020[26]
- Sue McPherson – 2021[27]
- Charmaine Papertalk Green – 2021[27]
- Vivienne Cleven – 2022[28]