The University of Queensland Press
University of Queensland Press (UQP), established in 1948, became one of Australia's most dynamic publishing houses known for its 'innovative philosophy and commitment to producing books of high quality and cultural significance'. UQP launched the careers of celebrated Australian writers such as David Malouf, Peter Carey, Kate Grenville, Doris Pilkington and Nick Earls.
First formed as a traditional university press, UQP branched out into publishing books for general readers in the forms of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, Indigenous writing and children's literature. UQP's 'books and authors have received national and international recognition through literary prizes, rights sales and writers' festivals'. And, from '2010 UQP has released selected out-of-print titles in digital formats, in addition to the digital and print publishing of new books.' (Source: UQP website)
In 1988, UQP established the annual David Unaipon Award, originally a category of the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, now the Queensland Literary Awards. The award was awarded for the best writing of the year by an unpublished Indigenous writer. The award was initiated in honour of David Unaipon, one of the earliest published Indigenous writers, in order to support new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers to get their books published (Source: ABC website).
Unaipon was born in 1872 at the Point Macleay mission in South Australia. He was a man of many talents as a writer, inventor, musician, and preacher, and from the late 1800s til the mid-1900s was acclaimed as a genius. In 1995, in an acknowledgement of his outstanding talents of writing and inventing, Unaipon's portrait was printed on the Australian $50 dollar note.
The David Unaipon Award 23 Winners Collection are now part of the UQP eBook Collections.
David Unaipon was born at the Point McLeay Mission, South Australia, and attended the mission school until 1885 when he left to become a servant. Encouraged by others to pursue his interest in philosophy, science and music, Unaipon read widely and became well-known for his intellectual capacity and inventions. He spoke regularly at schools and learned societies, and often attended government enquiries.
In the 1920s, he began to study western mythology and began collecting his own people's myths and legends.
'From the 2022 David Unaipon winner comes an outstanding and timely collection of speculative fiction imagining futures where Indigenous sovereignty is fully reasserted.
'In this stunningly inventive and thought-provoking collection, Mykaela Saunders poses the question—what might country, community and culture look like in the Tweed if Gooris reasserted their sovereignty?
'Each of the stories in Always Will Be is set in its own future version of the Tweed. In one, a group of girls plot their escape from a home they have no memory of entering.
(...more)In 2020, Wiradjuri writer Jazz Money's manuscript The Space between the Paperbark won the David Uniapon Award. The work was published in 2021 as How to Make a Basket.
'A powerful and lyrical collection of poetry by the winner of the 2020 David Unaipon Award.
'the end of the world was marked with beautiful light we should have known
'Simmering with protest and boundless love, Jazz Money's David Unaipon Award-winning collection, how to make a basket, examines the tensions of living in the Australian colony today. By turns scathing, funny and lyrical, Money uses her poetry as an extension of protest against the violence of the colonial state, and as a celebration of Blak and queer love.
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In 2018, Yuwallarai writer Kirstie Parker's manuscript The Making of Ruby Champion won the David Unaipon Award. This work's publication is forthcoming by University of Queensland Press (UQP).
'Remember daughter, the world is a lot bigger than anyone knows. There are things that science may never explain. Maybe some things that shouldn’t be explained.
'Stacey and Laney are twins – mirror images of each other – and yet they’re as different as the sun and the moon. Stacey works hard at school, determined to get out of their small town. Laney skips school and sneaks out of the house to meet her boyfriend. But when Laney disappears one night, Stacey can’t believe she’s just run off without telling her.
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In 2016, Barindji writer Paul Collis's novel Dancing Home won the David Unaipon Award. This work was published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2017.
‘When he was in gaol, he’d begun to prepare himself for the fight of his life, a showdown with the policeman, McWilliams … he’d face life with death, and see who blinked first.’
'Blackie and Rips are fresh out of prison when they set off on a road trip back to Wiradjuri country with their mate Carlos. Blackie is out for revenge against the cop who put him in prison on false grounds. He is also craving to reconnect with his grandmother’s country.
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In 2015, Aboriginal writer Andrew Booth’s fiction The First Octoroon or Report of an Experimental Child won the David Unaipon Award. As of 2018, this work has not yet been published.
'The First Octoroon is a work of fiction based in fact, inspired by the writer's discovery that he was an experimental child, that his birth was the result of a state sanctioned scientific experiment, a large-scale genetic intervention called Assimilation, intended to eliminate the perceived menace of Aboriginal 'half-castes' by ‘breeding out the colour’.' (Source: Queensland Literary Awards website)
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In 2014, Aboriginal mother and daughter writers Lesley Williams and Tammy Williams unpublished novel Not Just Black and White , won the David Unaipon Award. This work was published on 26 August 2015 by University of Queensland Press.
'Lesley Williams was forced to leave the Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement and her family at a young age to work as a domestic servant. Apart from pocket money, Lesley never saw her wages – they were kept ‘safe’ for her and for countless others just like her. She was taught not to question her life, until desperation made her start to wonder, where is all that money she earned? And so began a nine-year journey for answers.'
'Inspired by her mother’s quest, a teenage Tammy Williams entered a national writing competition with an essay about injustice. The winning prize took Tammy and Lesley to Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch and ultimately to the United Nations in Geneva. Along the way, they found courage they never thought they had and friendship in the most unexpected places.' (Source: On-line)
In 2013, Bundjalung writer Ellen Van Neerven’s novel Heat and Light, won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2013.
'In this award-winning work of fiction, Ellen van Neerven leads readers on a journey that is mythical, mystical and still achingly real.
'Over three parts, van Neerven takes traditional storytelling and gives it a unique, contemporary twist. In ‘Heat’, we meet several generations of the Kresinger family and the legacy left by the mysterious Pearl. In ‘Water’, a futuristic world is imagined and the fate of a people threatened. In ‘Light’, familial ties are challenged and characters are caught between a desire for freedom and a sense of belonging.
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In 2012, Yuwallarai writer Siv Parker’s unpublished novel Story, won the David Unaipon Award. As of 2018, this work has not yet been published.
In 2011, Kokatha writer Dylan Coleman’s novel Mazin Grace, won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2012.
In 2010, Wiradjuri writer Jeanine Leane’s novel Purple Threads, won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2011.
In 2009, Birri-Gubba writer Nicole Watson’s novel The Boundary, won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2011.
'Hours after rejecting the Corrowa People's native title claim on Brisbane's Meston Park, Justice Bruce Brosnan is brutally murdered in his home. Days later, lawyers against the claim are also found dead.
Aboriginal people were once prohibited from entering Brisbane's city limits at night, and Meston Park stood on the boundary. The Corrowa's matriarch, Ethel Cobb, is convinced the murders are the work of an ancient assassin who has returned to destroy the boundary, but Aboriginal lawyer Miranda Eversely isn't so sure.
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In 2008, Rembarrnga writer Marie Munkara’s selected work of short stories Every Secret Thing, won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2009.
'In the Aboriginal missions of far northern Australia, it was a battle between saving souls and saving traditional culture.
'Every Secret Thing is a rough, tough, hilarious portrayal of the Bush Mob and the Mission Mob, and the hapless clergy trying to convert them. In these tales, everyone is fair game.
'At once playful and sharp, Marie Munkara's wonderfully original stories cast a taunting new light on the mission era in Australia.' (From the publisher's website.)
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In 2007, Wiradjuri writer and poet Elizabeth Hodgson’s selected work of poetry Skin Painting, won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2008.
'My story cannot be painted onto a canvas - it is skin painting.
Brave, haunting and evocative, this powerful volume is poetry as memoir. From her early experiences in an institution and the effect of this on her family to the illustration of her strength as an adult, Elizabeth Hodgson helps make a slice of Aboriginal experience accessible and resonant. Skin Painting explores themes of art, identity, sexuality and loneliness. It is both universal and intimated, honest and important.
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In 2006, Wongaiibon writer Gayle Kennedy’s selected work of short stories Me, Antman and Fleabag, won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2007.
'A collection of short stories that encapsulates the story of the Aboriginal narrator, her partner Antman, their dog Fleabag and their life in travelling in rural Australia.' (Source: Narragunnawali resource)
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In 2005, Bidjara writer Yvette Holt’s selected work of poetry Anonymous Premonition, won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2008.
In 2004, Wiradjuri writer Tara June Winch’s selected work Dust on Waterglass, also titled as Swallow the Air won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2006.
Swallow the Air follows the life of 15-year-old May Gibson, an Aboriginal girl from New South Wales whose mother commits suicide. May and her brother go to live with their aunt, but eventually May travels further afield, first to Redfern's Block in Sydney, then to the Northern Territory, and finally into central New South Wales. She travels to escape, but also in pursuit of a sense of her own history, family, and identity.
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In 2003, Wik woman writer Fiona Doyle’s life story Whispers of This Wik Woman won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2004.
'This absorbing and personal account of Wik activist Jean George Awumpun offers a rare understanding of Aboriginal identity and traditional land. To illustrate her proud Alngith Wikwaya beginnings, Awumpun's early history is told through family member and Alngith descendant Fiona Doyle. This ancestral history combines with the story of Awumpun's struggle in the Wik native title claims, which advanced the earlier Mabo Decision onto mainland Australia.
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In 2002, Kamilaroi writer Larissa Behrendt’s novel Home won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2004.
'A story of homecoming, this absorbing novel opens with a young, city-based lawyer setting out on her first visit to ancestral country. Candice arrives at "the place where the rivers meet", the camp of the Eualeyai where in 1918 her grandmother Garibooli was abducted. As Garibooli takes up the story of Candice's Aboriginal family, the twentieth century falls away.
Garibooli, renamed Elizabeth, is sent to work as a housemaid, but marriage soon offers escape from the terror of the master's night-time visits.
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In 2001, Gunditjmara writer Robert Lowe’s life story The Mish won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2002.
'Robert Lowe's affection and regard for "The Mish", a property in Victoria's southwest, originally an Aboriginal mission, is warmly conveyed in this candid memoir. In the 1950s and 60s when Robert was growing up, "The Mish" was a close knit community made up of the Aboriginal descendants of Framlingham Aboriginal Mission Station, founded in 1865. Robert's adventurous boyhood was a secured and unfettered time spent with his siblings and cousins enjoying hunting, fishing and eel trapping.
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In 2000, Kamilaroi writer Vivienne Cleven’s novel Bitin’ Back won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2001.
In 1999, Bundjalung writer Samuel Wagan Watson’s selection of poetry Of Muse, Meandering and Midnight won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2000.
In 1998, Gungarri writer Ruth Hegarty’s autobiography Is That You Ruthie? won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1999.
In 1997, Bardi writer John Bodey’s selected work When Darkness Falls won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 2000.
In 1996, Kamilaroi writer Steven McCarthy’s dramatic novel Black Angels, Red Blood won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1998.
'On the surface there's not much to distinguish Tim's life from any other on the fringe- where dope, booze and women are his pleasure as well as his pain. He has family in the bush, and the lives of his city friends are transacted in the face of poverty and police harassment. It is only in Tim's relationship with the Old Man that we glimpse another and little known world where the rules are different, but so too the retribution.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)
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In 1995, Aboriginal writer Warrigal Anderson’s autobiography Warrigal’s Way won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1996.
In 1994, descendants of Manalargenna, a leader of the Trawlwoolway people, writers Rosalie Medcraft and Valda Gee’s life story The Sausage Tree won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1995.
In 1993, Wiradjuri writer and poet John Muk Muk Burke’s novel Bridge of Triangles won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1994.
In 1992, Kamilaroi novelist Philip McLaren’s book Sweet Water: Stolen Land won the David Unaipon Award. This work was first published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1993.
In 1991, writer and poet Bill Dodd’s book Broken Dreams won the David Unaipon Award. This work was published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1992.
'When eighteen-year-old Bill Dodd dived into the Maranoa River his life changed in an instant. This young larrikin had enjoyed many adventures as a stockman on a remote station; now he was a quadriplegic. His boxing, running and football days were over, and he would never ride a horse again.
Bill's story begins with a high-spirited childhood in smalltown Queensland, a time of youthful humour and energy. The sudden death of his stockman father affects Bill deeply and he rebels, before himself choosing the exciting life of an apprentice stockman.
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In 1990, Mardu writer Doris Pilkington Garimara’s book Caprice: A Stockman’s Daughter won the David Unaipon Award. This work was published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1991.
'A fictional account of one woman's journey to find her family and heritage, Caprice won the 1990 David Unaipon Award for unpublished Indigenous writers. Its publication marked the beginning of Doris Pilkington Garimara's illustrious writing career.
Set in the towns, pastoral stations and orphanage-styled institutions of Western Australia, this story brings together the lives of three generations of Mardu women. The narrator Kate begins her journey with the story of her grandmother Lucy, a domestic servant, then traces the short and tragic life of her mother Peggy.
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In 1989, Noongar writer and poet Graeme Dixon’s first collection of poetry Holocaust Island won the David Unaipon Award. This work was published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1990.
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