Books for Broome & Beyond

Peruse through the publications of Magabala Books and discover a world of Indigenous and local Kimberley storytelling.

Magabala Books, an award-winning publishing house and bookshop, is Australia’s leading Indigenous publisher, having represented Indigenous stories and authors for over 30 years.

Guided by strong cultural principles and a passion for quality literature, Magabala is named after the Nyul Nyul, Nyangumarta,

Karajarri and Yawuru traditional language word for ‘bush banana’.

“The bush banana spreads its seeds far and wide,” says Rachel Bin

Salleh, of Magabala Books. “The organisation was established in 1984 at a traditional Aboriginal song and dance festival held at Ngumpan near Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia, specifically to protect the rights of storytellers and artists and ensure Aboriginal stories were recorded and shared with future generations.”

At a time when much had or was being written about Aboriginal people, the decision to establish a publishing arm to represent their voices was ambitious, but, says Rachel, it was done largely in response to concerns that Indigenous stories were being taken and published without permission by non-Indigenous academics and writers.

In 1987, Magabala Books published its first title, Mayi: Some Bush

Fruits of the West Kimberley, by Merrilee Lands, who also worked as one of Magabala’s first staff members as a trainee editor. Wandering

Girl, the highly acclaimed autobiography by Glenyse Ward, soon followed.

Today, Magabala Books publishes up to 15 titles a year across a broad range of genres, including young adult and adult fiction, memoir, non-fiction and poetry. Its impressive resume of awardwinning titles includes Bruce Pascoe’s best-selling Dark Emu and

Young Dark Emu, and Bindi by Kirli Saunders, the most awarded book in the Publisher’s history.

While Magabala Book’s physical store is currently closed until further notice, books are available for purchase online. ‘Click & collect’ an option for local pick-up. Visit magabala.com

A SELECTION OF NOTABLE TITLES AVAILABLE THROUGH MAGABALA BOOKS

DEBESA

(2021) by Cindy Solonec This extraordinary and heartfelt social history chronicles the lives of the Rodriguez family of Debesa Station in the West Kimberley; their livelihood through difficult times, love of family, place and culture, and the challenges of day-to-day living on a small sheep station amid huge pastoral properties.

CHARLIE’S SWIM

(2022) by Edith Wright, illustrated by

Charmaine Ledden-Lewis

Charlie’s Swim is a children’s picture book about heroism and survival, based on the true story of the author’s uncle Charlie (Charles D’Antoine) who was working inside a flying boat when the Japanese attacked Broome in 1942. In the midst of flying bullets, blazing fires and sharks, Charlie saw a woman and child desperately trying to keep afloat and without hesitation went to their rescue.

YORNADAIYN WOOLAGOODJA

(2020) by Yornadaiyn Woolagoodja This stunning coffee table book is a biography and a generous sharing of Yorna’s culture and traditional beliefs. Explore the West Kimberley through the author’s eyes and learn the meaning of Country, Lalai (‘Creation’), Wandjina and Woongudd (the ‘Snake’). Full of extraordinary images of the landscape, rock art, stone arrangements and the artist’s paintings, Yornadaiyn Woolagoodja is a feast for anyone interested in this rich cultural heritage.

SHIRLEY PURDIE: MY STORY, NGAGINYBE JARRAGBE

(2020) by Shirley Purdie Told in English and Gija, this is the life-story of world-renowned artist Shirley Purdie, depicted alongside her stunning paintings. In My Story, Ngaginybe Jarragbe, Shirley shares vignettes of her life growing up on Mabel Downs station in the East Kimberley, and her Gija Culture, Country and Dreaming.

HOMECOMING

(2021) by Elfie Shiosaki Magabala’s most awarded 2021 title, Homecoming pieces together fragments of stories about four generations of Noongar women in the author’s family, and explores how they navigated the changing landscapes of colonisation, protectionism, and assimilation to hold their families together. “...elegant and extraordinary...” – Australian Arts Review