Further to my previous post back in April, I am pleased to announce ANZ LitLovers is hosting Indigenous Writers Week in the first week in July to coincide with NAIDOC Week here in Australia.
However, your choices aren’t restricted just to Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori literature. Participants are welcome to join in reading indigenous literature from anywhere in the world, from Canada to Guyana, from Native American to Basque to Pashtun or Ixcatec. (For a list of indigenous people of the world, see this list at Wikipedia.) As to how we define indigenous, that’s up to indigenous people themselves. If they identify as indigenous themselves, well, that’s good enough for me.
I’d love it if you join me in exploring the fascinating world of indigenous story-telling – so – with help from many fantastic contributors, I have generated a reading list to inspire you. For reasons of space and time and personal preference my reading list is limited to literary fiction titles by indigenous Australian and New Zealand authors but participants are free to choose any form you like – short story, memoir, biography, whatever takes your fancy! The permanent link to the reading list is on the ANZLL Books You Must Read page in the top menu, and you can also find it in the list of Pages near the bottom of the RH Menu.
Thanks to my fellow book bloggers – Kinna at Kinna Reads, Iris on Books, and Kim from Reading Matters, who inspired me to try this:)
Interested? Sign up now to give yourself time to source the book you want to read, and please, leave a comment here on this page after signing up.
To sign up
1. If you have a blog or a Library Thing or GoodReads account, click on the Mr Linky image below. Mr Linky will open up on a new page where you enter your name and blog/LT or GR URL. If you don’t have a blog or one of these accounts, just use the comments box below.
2. Tell us what you think you might read in the comments box. (You can always change your mind later if you want to).
If you want to check that you’ve signed up with Mr Linky, refresh this page, click on the widget again, and you will see something that looks like this and you should be able to see your name on it.
To share your thoughts about the book you’ve read
When you’ve read the book and you’re ready to share your thoughts about it, please visit the Reviews page where you can post your comments about the book and/or a link to your review on your own blog or at GoodReads or Library Thing.
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
Hi Lisa, I’m all signed up (hopefully.) It’s a great idea and I am generally enthusiastic, but will need to research some of your links before settling specifically on a title. I have always wanted to read The Bone People but that is something I would probably read anyway, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to break out of my comfort zone. Thanks for hosting!
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By: Sarah on May 18, 2012
at 1:22 am
Wonderful, good karma coming your way for being first!
The Bone People is a a stunning book. I still remember talking about it with my friend Helen when we both had just read it. That’s about 20 years ago now!
PS Yes, you are signed up properly. For complicated blog security reasons, Mr Linky doesn’t work the same way on WordPress blogs, so you don’t see the names in a list on this page. But if you click the Mr Linky link, a new page opens up and then you can see the names of all the participants there.
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 1:24 am
count me in Lisa I ll read the Grace and have a Atxaga as well so that is two ,all the best stu
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By: winstonsdad on May 18, 2012
at 4:46 am
Great! Good karma to you for choosing two, Stu:)
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 7:49 am
I’m in! I am going to take the opportunity to read something off of my shelves
(that I bought at MWF last year) – That Deadman Dance.
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By: Marg on May 18, 2012
at 6:31 am
Would it be bad of me to re-read something I’ve already read? I read it a long time ago and, as I know it is hiding somewhere in my messy bookshelves, it would be easier than sourcing something new at this stage. I think I may have mentioned before that ‘Doctor Wooreddy’s Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World’ had great impact and I would love to revisit it again and see if I read it differently all these years later with older eyes.
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By: karenlee thompson on May 18, 2012
at 6:56 am
No, that would be a fantastic choice, Karen. I ordered that on inter-library loan when you first mentioned it here, but I haven’t heard anything yet. Such an intriguing title!
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 7:48 am
Karen, I’ve maligned my library. Guess who rang me up this afternoon to tell me that Dr Wooraddy had arrived!
(Interesting though, they charged me $6 whereas the Casey library doesn’t charge anything). It looks wonderful…but no, I’m going to finish What the Family Needed first, that’s wonderful too, and I really must control this habit of having 4-6 books going at once!
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 4:07 pm
You are a sucker for punishment Lisa!
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By: karenlee thompson on May 18, 2012
at 5:48 pm
I will take part too Lisa … it will MAKE me finally read Tara June Winch at the very least. (And I reckon rereading is fine because it will tell others about it and that’s what Lisa’s wanting to achieve, eh?)
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By: whisperinggums on May 18, 2012
at 11:19 am
Yes, Lisa is very keen to achieve that! But also, that title, well, if I can’t get hold of it myself (and it’s not looking good) I sure do want one of my friends to read it and tell me what it’s like!
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 11:21 am
Stu, Karen and Sue, please click the Mr Linky widget to sign up, I know you three have your own blogs LOL
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 11:30 am
I’ve done that now. Not sure if it should show somewhere?
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By: karenlee thompson on May 18, 2012
at 12:16 pm
Yes, it does, and I’ve added a bit to the bottom of the post that shows you how to check it. (LOL Weren’t we just chatting on your blog about how we think we’ve explained something clearly in our writing, and then someone else reads it, and …..?!)
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 12:33 pm
Chuckle
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By: karenlee thompson on May 18, 2012
at 5:48 pm
Reading as punishment, I love it *chortle*
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 5:54 pm
Hi Lisa
I am signed up and then I wondered what will I read? After checking your reading list I find I have a copy of Baby No Eyes by Patricia Grace so finally you have given me an excuse to read it. Thanks for hosting this event featuring Indigenous storytelling. Looking forward to discovering a new author.
Jenny
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By: Jenny Snell (@wellreadisjen) on May 18, 2012
at 1:16 pm
Wonderful, welcome aboard!
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 1:26 pm
This is a great idea Lisa, count me in.
Fiction wise, I’ve been meaning to read Tara June Winch’s stories and Blood by Tony Birch. Your list has additional interesting possibilities as well.
On the Non-fiction side, I’ll plan to read Fiona Skyring’s Justice and re-read Carmel Bird’s The Stolen Children.
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By: adevotedreader on May 18, 2012
at 1:25 pm
Fantastic, lots of good karma around!
Those two NF titles sound interesting…
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 1:27 pm
Hi Lisa, I have signed up as I have 4 of the titles listed on my TBR shelves. Eeeny, meeny miney mo time! I wonder if I can manage 2. Possibles are Witi Ihimaera’s The Dream Swimmer one of the few I haven’t read, Potiki by Patricia Grace ditto, Rangitira by Paula Morris and Sons for the Return Home by Albert Wendt. At the moment I’m favouring Potiki (I haven’t read one of hers in a long time and Albert Wendt whom I have always wanted to read but have not as yet. I have read all the Alan Duff titles. Do you realise he has other titles One Night Out Stealing, his memoir – Out of the Mist and Steam and my personal favourite Both Sides of the Moon. I look forward to the challenge.
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By: HelenNZ on May 18, 2012
at 5:35 pm
Yay, my first Kiwi participant! Welcome:) Karma floating ing across the ditch towards you!
I’m hoping to do one from Oz and one from NZ, but I haven’t decided which one it will be. I have two by Ihimaera on my TBR, but then, this is an excuse to buy another, it’s a sin not to have anything by Duff on the TBR, right?
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 5:53 pm
Like you, I’m hoping to do one from Oz and one from NZ, but I’ll decide nearer the date – although it’s not actually that far away ;)
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By: Tony on May 18, 2012
at 6:14 pm
It’s tricky deciding when to invite participation. Too early, and people forget or get sidetracked, too late and they get involved in other stuff.
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By: Lisa Hill on May 18, 2012
at 9:12 pm
This is a great excuse for me to finally dust off that copy of Kim Scott’s Benang that I picked up in a charity shop a year or so ago. Thanks for organising this Lisa, it’s a great idea.
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By: kimbofo on May 19, 2012
at 3:15 am
Oh that is excellent, Kim. it will be really good to have a proper review of that online, I couldn’t find anything about it when I went looking last year. I posted my rather lame thoughts from my journal, just to put it out there, but Benang deserves better than that.
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By: Lisa Hill on May 19, 2012
at 7:09 am
I am so all over this! I already have War Dances by Sherman Alexie on my wishlist, so this is a great excuse to pick it up.
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By: wolfshowl on May 19, 2012
at 4:39 am
Hello Wolfy, welcome:) You’ll be reading a book by an indigenous American Indian, yeah! (I looked it up).
I looked up your blog too, and your About page – and must pass on the title of the book I’m currently reading for your MIA Challenge: it’s called What the Family Needed by Steven Amsterdam. and I think it’s right up your alley.
Cheers
Lisa
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By: Lisa Hill on May 19, 2012
at 7:07 am
I have joined up, I hope. My Linky seems a bit slow this morning. I have selected Shadowboxing by Tony Birch and will add another book before the deadline.
Helen
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By: Helen Rutten on May 19, 2012
at 7:34 am
Great, thanks, Helen, I’ll link to your review of Shadowboxing when it’s done, from my Meet an Aussie Author page about Tony Birch, that’ll be great.
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By: Lisa Hill on May 19, 2012
at 7:37 am
Lisa, I’ll sign up to read one of Kim Scott’s earlier books, ‘True Country’. If it’s as good as ‘That Deadman Dance’ I know I’ll enjoy it.
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By: Narelle on May 20, 2012
at 2:16 pm
Wonderful! Welcome, Narelle, your thoughts in our book group are always so perceptive, it will be great to have you here:)
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By: Lisa Hill on May 20, 2012
at 2:21 pm
OK – I have posted my Challenge on my blog now – so have Mr Linky’d :)
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By: sally906 on May 22, 2012
at 2:36 pm
[…] is also hosting Indigenous Literature Week in the first week of […]
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By: Grist for the Mill/Water under the Bridge « Novel Interpretations on June 2, 2012
at 6:21 am
[…] PS You could read this one for Indigenous Literature Week here at ANZ LitLovers in the first week of July: sign up here. […]
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By: Double Native, by Fiona Wirrer-George Oochunyung « ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 2, 2012
at 6:30 pm
Lisa, A bit late I know. My hope is to read, Henry Reynolds’ “The Whispering in our Hearts” and Leonie Norrington’s Barrumbi Kids”. I am not sure if she is of Aboriginal descent but her books address cultural differences.
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By: Margaret Tranter on June 5, 2012
at 5:05 am
Never too late, Marg! I looked up Leonie Norrington on Black Words, and yes, she is, she grew up in an Aboriginal community in NT.
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By: Lisa Hill on June 5, 2012
at 6:55 pm
I’m looking forward to reading a book in my TBR for too long – Fight for Liberty and Freedom by John Maynard.
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By: perkinsy on June 19, 2012
at 10:40 pm
[…] sign up for Indigenous Literature Week, visit this page and to check out other books to choose from, click […]
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By: More resources for 2012 Indigenous Literature Week at ANZLitLovers « ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 19, 2012
at 10:50 pm
Hopefully I am signed up and will try to read some of the non fiction reads that are available at my library.
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By: Meg on June 20, 2012
at 1:47 pm
[…] don’t you also participate in this? Show your support by signing up on the ANZ LitLovers page and start reading. Lisa Hill has made a list of literature written by indigenous authors that you […]
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By: Indigenous Literature Week 1-8 July 2012 | Stumbling Through the Past on June 20, 2012
at 8:30 pm
Hi Lisa, I have tried to join up but have no blog/LT or GR URL, so lets hope this works. I will read some of the non fiction books.
Meg
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By: Meg on June 20, 2012
at 8:43 pm
Hi Lisa. I’m all signed up. Gunning for Carpentaria by Alexis Wright. Not sure I’ll finish it in a week, but will give it a go. Thanks for hosting a great initiative. John
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By: musingsofaliterarydilettante on June 28, 2012
at 9:55 pm
Oh, I am so happy about your choice! I have read Carpentaria, but it was before I started this blog, and I’ve felt for a long time that it is a real drawback that I don’t have a review of it here. Now there will be yours and I will have a link to it!
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By: Lisa Hill on June 29, 2012
at 5:40 pm
[…] post is my contribution to the Indigenous Literature Week (1-8 July 2012). If you would like to read a history or biography written by an Australian indigenous author but […]
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By: Book Review – Fight for Liberty and Freedom: The origins of Australian Aboriginal activism | Stumbling Through the Past on July 1, 2012
at 7:26 pm
[…] for ANZLitLovers Indigenous Literature Week, for which Lisa has also reviewed […]
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By: Jeanine Leane, Purple threads (Review for Indigenous Literature Week) « Whispering Gums on July 5, 2012
at 11:59 am
A bit late, but I’ve signed up. I’ll see what I can find to read in the next three days. Google Books has part of Ruby Langford’s “Don’t Take Your Love to Town” online; I might do that.
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By: DKS on July 6, 2012
at 3:04 am
That would be great!
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By: Lisa Hill on July 6, 2012
at 5:33 am
[…] should read from more culturally diverse authors. I was grateful to Lisa Hill for initiating the Indigenous Literature Week and reviewed two history books written by Aboriginal authors. I would like to expand on this […]
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By: The Year that was: Australian Women Writers’ Challenge 2012 | Stumbling Through the Past on December 16, 2012
at 3:51 pm
[…] Fog a Dox is another addition to the reviews of children’s books which I’m contributing to Indigenous Literature Week that I’ve been hosting on my ANZ LitLovers Blog. […]
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By: Book Review: Fog a Dox by Bruce Pascoe « LisaHillSchoolStuff's Weblog on April 15, 2013
at 9:00 pm
[…] been hosting Indigenous Literature Week on my ANZ LitLovers Blog so it’s appropriate that I review a couple of children’s books by indigenous authors […]
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By: Book Review: My Home Broome, by Tamzyne Richardson and Bronwyn Houston « LisaHillSchoolStuff's Weblog on April 15, 2013
at 9:01 pm
[…] LitLovers hosted Indigenous Literature Week July 1-8, 2012 To find out more about it, click here. To see reviews of indigenous literature from participants or to add to the database of reviews, […]
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By: 2012 Indigenous Literature Week at ANZ Litlovers | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 22, 2014
at 7:51 pm
[…] for ANZLitLovers Indigenous Literature Week, for which Lisa has also reviewed […]
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By: Jeanine Leane, Purple threads (Review for Indigenous Literature Week) | Whispering Gums on July 14, 2014
at 8:56 pm
[…] UQP (University of Queensland Press) to donate a book by an indigenous author as a giveaway for Indigenous Literature Week here at ANZ LitLovers in July, and they have kindly […]
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By: Book Giveaway for Indigenous Literature Week: Purple Threads by Jeanine Leane | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on July 2, 2020
at 2:49 pm
[…] news! I approached Magabala Books to donate a book by an indigenous author as a giveaway for Indigenous Literature Week here at ANZ LitLovers in July, and they have kindly […]
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By: Book Giveaway for Indigenous Literature Week: Grace Beside Me by Sue McPherson | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on July 2, 2020
at 2:50 pm
[…] by UQP (University of Queensland Press) who kindly donated it as a giveaway for the forthcoming Indigenous Literature Week here at ANZ LitLovers in the first week of […]
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By: Book Giveaway Winner: Purple Threads by Jeanine Leane | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on July 2, 2020
at 2:58 pm