Photo: Rachel Bin Salleh, Jared Thomas, Jane Harrison and Robert Watkins at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

In early April, Magabala Publisher, Rachel Bin Salleh travelled to Alberta, Canada to deliver a presentation on Australian Indigenous publishing at the Indigenous Writing and Publishing Forum, held at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

The purpose of the three-day forum was to bring together Indigenous writers and publishers from Canada and Australia to celebrate the literary accomplishments of Indigenous writers and exchange thoughts and ideas about the current and future needs of Indigenous writing.

The Australian delegation included Magabala authors, Jared Thomas (Calypso Summer, Songs that sound like blood) and Jane Harrison (Becoming Kirrali Lewis), as well as Robert Watkins, Publisher for Hachette Australia.

Rachel, Jane and Robert came together again in May to discuss their experience of the forum at the Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) Program in Sydney, where they spoke about the opportunities and challenges for publishing work by Australian Indigenous writers  nationally and internationally.