Carl Merrison Carl Merrison i(13859893 works by)
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Djaru / Jaru ; Aboriginal Kija
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BiographyHistory

Carl Merrison has worked with the Clontarf Foundation, which he helped start in his home town of Halls Creek in 2008: the program engages with Indigenous boys through AFL, using an incentive program to increase school attendance.

His first book was published with Magabala Books in 2018. In 2020, he received a black&write! Fellowship for the manuscript 'Backyard Sports', a children's series set in the Kimberley.

Exhibitions

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2022 recipient Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships Elevate : First Nations Storytelling to develop a humorous picture book aimed at bush kids across Australia — and to increase understanding, reconciliation and connection between city kids and bush kids.
2020 winner Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Daisy Utemorrah Award with Hakea Hustler, for 'Dirran'.
2020 winner black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowships for 'Backyard Sports'.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Dirrarn Broome : Magabala Books , 2023 26219324 2023 single work children's fiction children's

'Mia could hear the squarks of her Jarriny before she saw them. Her eye’s had flicked to the sky in search of the passing dirrarn but soon realized the noise was from the bird just beyond the gate.

'We first met Mia in Black Cockatoo, as she navigated her way through culture, Country and familial ties. Dirrarn follows Mia as she finds herself at boarding school and the challenges of living thousands of kilometres away from home, family, and the big sky country she loves. Mia along with her best friend, Naya, negotiate new friends, new ways of thinking and new ways of being in a different world. As Mia wrestles with all that is unfamilar, she soon must learn to stand in her truth when confronted with unending challenges.

'The dirrarn (black cockatoo) is Mia’s totem animal. It provides her with the strength and freedom to stay connected to her world, even when she is a long way from home. It is this totem she draws upon. Dirrarn is a sensitive story on the power of place, personality and the honour of standing up for the truth.' (Publication summary)

2024 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Younger Readers
2024 highly commended Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Prize for Indigenous Writing
y separately published work icon My Deadly Boots Sydney : Lothian , 2022 24677476 2022 single work picture book children's

'Spikes on the bottom boots,

my favourite colour boots,

making me too deadly.

'Can the shoes on your feet really make you jump higher? Walk taller? Dream bigger?

'A joyous, empowering story about finding confidence within yourself, boots or no boots, from the award-winning authors of Black Cockatoo.'  (Publication summary)

2023 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Griffith University Children’s Book Award
2023 shortlisted Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards Three to 5 Years
y separately published work icon Black Cockatoo Broome : Magabala Books , 2018 13859973 2018 single work children's fiction children's

'Black Cockatoo is a vignette that follows Mia, a young Aboriginal girl as she explores the fragile connections of family and culture. Mia is a 13-year-old girl from a remote community in the Kimberley. She is saddened by the loss of her brother as he distances himself from the family. She feels powerless to change the things she sees around her, until one day she rescues her totem animal, the dirran black cockatoo, and soon discovers her own inner strength. A wonderful small tale on the power of standing up for yourself, culture and ever-present family ties.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2019 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Griffith University Children’s Book Award
2019 shortlisted Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards Eight to 10 Years
2019 Honour book CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year: Younger Readers
2019 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Small Publishers' Children's Book of the Year
2019 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Younger Readers
2019 shortlisted Readings Prizes The Readings Children’s Book Prize
Last amended 26 Aug 2021 13:00:34
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