Founded in Broome in the Kimberly region of Western Australia in 1987, Magabala Books is an Indigenous Australian publishing house. Its first book was Glenyse Ward's Wandering Girl (1988), which sold over 5,000 copies within two months; in addition British rights were sold to Virago Press. In 1990, Magabala became an independent Aboriginal corporation, managed by an all-Aboriginal management committee comprising local people and others with publishing experience.
Magabala 'publishes works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and editors, provides advice and publishing services and invites manuscripts. The organisation 'spreads the seeds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures by recording, publishing and promoting this unique literature in Australia and throughout the world' (Magabala website).
Design is paramount to Magabala's success, with a focus on authentic 'design colour, symbols and language'. Magabala Books publishes children's titles, historical and autobiographical works as well as poetry and fiction, and publishes only the work of Aboriginal writers and illustrators (Anita Heiss, p.53 and 55).
In 2019, Magabala Books partnered with The Rights Hive agency for international rights sales.
In 2023, Magabala announced that Gumbaynggirr educator, researcher and advocate Lilly Brown was its incoming CEO, replacing Anna Moulton.
Sources include Magabala Books website: http://www.magabala.com/; Anita Heiss, Dhuuluu-Yala (To Talk Straight): Publishing Indigenous Literature, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, 2003; Books + Publishing.
