"I am deeply thonoured to receive the 2024 Indigenous Writing Prize at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards because I know what a monumental and sometimes heartbreaking task it is to judge the storytelling ability of other blackfellas, having judged the Prize four times. Thanks Jeanine Leane, Tristan Harwood and Maya Hodge. I want to thank the Magabala family for opening their wide arms to wrap around me, and for their trust and their vision in seeing my potential, when even I didn't. 

To the big hearted and inspirational publisher Rachel bin Salleh and 'my' editor, the hardworking and tenacious Arlie Alizzi, thank you for the care and the blind faith you invested in this book and me. We got there in the end. But without either of you, there is no book. You also handed me a precious gift: the ability to see a future beyond journalism. It may not be so safe and predictable, but give me a creative practice over the demands and the administrivia of a big media organisation any day. I hope to dedicate my life to writing.

If there's anything I'd like to say to young black journalists and media professionals it's this: that when you're close to the subject, you care about the telling of their story and the stories of those directly involved. There is an ethics of care that governs what we do, and how we interact and engage with our communities. It's not written down but we all know it. Never sacrifice who you are, culturally, to satisfy the needs of your employer. No job is worth that kind of compromise. It's pretty simple I reckon: don’t write stories that you don't care about.", says Daniel Browning.