Acronyms I’m grateful for this week...

1. NASCA: I’m grateful I am part of the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy. As part of a NASCA initiative, this week I witnessed the extreme excitement and joy of 43 students (aged 10-15) from Ntaria (Hermannsburg) who came to Sydney on their first flight and then had their first glimpse of and swim in the sea. As I looked up from breakfast down Maroubra Beach and saw the kids kicking footballs, talking to life-guards and riding beach buggies my heart swelled. The kids also got to hang with Olympic champion Libby Trickett, walk across the Harbour Bridge and play laser skirmish. With a taste of city life they went back to the NT with a greater understanding of life in the city and many want to return. Come back soon, I say. You can learn more about the week in Sydney on this episode of the 7.30 Report or read the article in The Australian.
2. NCIE: I’m grateful for the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern which has become a hub of healthy activity and community engagement. Go to the gym there and do some laps or lunges or even have some laughs, and you’ll be grateful for too! I’m keeping one eye on the boot camp about to start... and the other eye on the chocolate! [The NCIE is also where the kids from Ntaria stayed while in Sydney]
3. NLA: I’m grateful to the National Library of Australia who hosted a stunning evening of readings to raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Project. I was delighted to take to the stage alongside ILP Ambassadors Kate Grenville and David Malouf with local writers Kerry Reed-Gilbert and Adrian Caesar. As writers we were asked to read from the books that had inspired us. I chose Terri Janke’s Butterfly Song, a beautiful and eloquent Australian novel. I was also grateful for those who came along and supported not only financially but got into the spirit of ILP and offered to continue the awareness raising campaign. More power to you all.
4: AIATSIS: I’m grateful to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies – the repository for everything published, photographed and recorded about and by Indigenous Australia. With a comprehensive library, bookshop, publishing arm and research centre, they also host seminar series each year. This week I was part of Text and Texture series, speaking alongside Janine Dunleavy about Aboriginal literature and literacy. A great role up, interesting discussion and an excellent platform from which to promote the developments that have happened in writing and publishing in the past decade. To watch webcasts of the series click here.
[Pics above of Janine Dunleavy and I at the seminar and group shop of Seminar Coordinator Jeanine Leane on far left and Black Words Coordinator Sam Faulkner, far right]
5. RA: I’m grateful not only that Reconciliation Australia continues to work to build bridges between black and white Australia, but staff came along to the Text and Texture seminar at AIATSIS this week to learn more about our books and writing. I’m doubly grateful that they have invited me to visit their book club later in the year to yarn about Manhattan Dreaming. See you all then!

I’m grateful for life in Sydney...

1. TOLERANT WAIT STAFF: I have to say that I generally have fantastic wait staff when dining out in Sydney. I must add though that I am a sensational patron, even if lunch with some friends (ahem... Ms Frane Lessac) results in water ending up in laps and sugar down tops. Thank you to our waiter at Cerviche, Coogee for being so tolerant. It won’t happen again, well it might, but hopefully you won’t be rostered on that day. On a serious note, I was truly grateful for a lunch full of laughter with my West Australian friend, and for her gorgeous gift of a satin jewelery swag (see picture). I kinda look like the woman on the bag don’t you think, you know, with the tiara and all!
2. BEING A LOCAL: The good thing about spending time in Sydney is bumping into friends and family at my local hangs like the Pavilion Cafe, Maroubra Beach. Sunday morning saw my cousin Bernardine on one side of the restaurant and Ray Minnicon and friend on another, and it was the perfect way to start the day facing the Pacific Ocean Temple.
3. COASTAL BODIES: Not that I have one, YET, but I am working on getting one with Christine who trains my cousin Bernardine and I. I’ve only had two sessions but Christine already understands that my lifestyle insists I eat chocolate every day. We’re working through what some may think is an issue in my diet. Today we trained down Maroubra: crunches, punches, sprints, blah, blah, blah. Hand me the block of Lindt NOW!
4. GOING TOPLESS: No, I don’t mean wearing nothing on the upper body, I mean driving with the top down on the car on a Sydney spring Sunday. There was real sense of freedom having the sun on my shoulders (which were covered in 30+ of course) and the breeze in my hair (Lucky I wasn’t wearing my wig) as I cruise around Sydney with my entourage Ms Kodie Bedford and Carly Wallace. We checked out the most important real estate around – out near La Perouse of course!
5. FALLING IN LOVE: Isn’t it the best feeling in the world? Well this past week I fell in love with Lindt macarons. My favourite: passionfruit or passionate fruit as I prefer to call it. It was the most pure dessert experience I have had in a long time. I’m grateful to M for giving me a box (I haven’t told Christine the trainer about this little gift). I appreciated them, but I don’t think my waist line did. The best thing: the Lindt Cafe is in Martin Place, Sydney!

What I’m grateful for Sept 1-8...

1. GRATITUDE: Now, I don’t want to confuse you but I am grateful firstly that I have the capacity to recognise regularly, all the wonderful things in my life and express my gratitude easily. And secondly, I’m grateful this week to hear that others are grateful for my gratitude blog. Children’s author Sally Fussell sent me a lovely email and blogged about how my own gratitude blog has helped her, and so I am grateful for that feedback also. You can check out Sally’s blog here.
2. GENEROSITY: We celebrated Indigenous Literacy Day events nationally this past week. I was fortunate enough to be part of the ILD auction and book swap at Avid Reader in Brisbane and what a fabulous night. On the deck out the back of the West End shop I shared a space with locals and even internationals all wanting to be a part of making real change for Indigenous kids in Australia. Up for auction was an autographed copy of Peter Carey’s Parrot and Olivier in America, a set of Jeannie Baker books (congratulations Darren Godwell on your winning bid... your daughter will be VERY happy). There was a gorgeous painting by local artist Sandi Okayli and a bookshelf full of fabulous titles donated by Random House, Hachette, Harper Collins, Random House, Paul & Alex and Christopher. The spirit in which the auction occurred was the highlight for me. A sense of fun mixed with the seriousness of why people were bidding to raise money. It warmed my heart. After the auction there was a Great Books Swap and the generosity of spirit continued. Being in a room of such giving, kind, politically like-minded people left me feeling grateful for being part of a special moment in time. We raised over $4000 but stay tuned for what we raised nationally. It’s not too late to donate if you haven’t had time to do so already. Just click this link and remember every over $2 is tax deductible.
3. SCARY.COM: You’ve met Scary.com before. They’re my Commissioner friend up north, and they are VERY scary. I often bow when I see them (or else!). I was incredibly grateful this past week for a phone call from Scary.com which came at a time when I needed a good yarn, a tear-forming laugh and some inspiration while on the road. I hope you realise my friend that everyone knows that underneath that scary exterior you are pure marshmallow!
4. WIRADJURI WINDOWS: Depicting a local Aboriginal Dreamtime story, the stained glass Wiradjuri windows are part of the Town Hall in Cootamundra and won the Local Government Cultural Award 2009 for Aboriginal Cultural Development. Designed and created by Dianne Berkrey with guidance from local Wiradjuri Elder, Bob Glanville, the artist is now hoping to work with Indigenous artists to portray more stories through Australia. If you’d like sometime inspirational and community minded in your area, contact Dianne directly on: dianneberkrey@bigpond.com
5. CHOOKY DANCERS: Last night I saw the sensational Chooky Dancers who rose to fame with their version of Zorba the Greek Yolgnu style that has been watched by over 1.5 million people on Youtube. The stage play title ‘Wrong Skin’ currently showing at the Sydney Opera House is the perfect fusion of balanda and Yolgnu dance, drama and music. The experience of culture, politics, humour and deadly dance moves rivals anything I’ve seen anywhere in the world. I can't recommend it higher. GO SEE IT! More power to you fellas, I’m grateful for the experience you shared. Actually, it makes me want to dance!

What I’m grateful for at the Brisbane Writers’ Festival:

1. OUTDOOR READING ROOM: As part of this year’s Get Reading program (previously known as Books Alive), there’s a fabulous outdoor reading room set up at the BWF with bucket chairs and rugs on grass where you can read and also have one ear on what’s happening on the Breezeway Stage. I’m a big fan of the government initiative to get more people reading books. And for the month of September if you buy one of the Get Reading 50 Books you can’t put down you’ll receive a free anthology of short stories by some of Australia’s top writers. What a bargain!
2. WIRADJURI-NESS: Yes it is a real word, even if I just made it up. I was grateful for my Wiradjuri-ness when my sista Jeanine Leanne took out the 2010 David Unaipon Award at this year’s QLD Premier’s Literary Awards for her unpublished manuscript Purple Threads. I was so proud of the soon-to-be-published author (and DR!). And as an aside, I was also glad for the noise her supporters made when her win was announced. Honestly, it was the most uninspired awards audience I have even been part of. Make some racket people, these winners have worked hard to get where they are today.
3. CHEEKY CHICKS: I’m grateful for the opportunity to discuss the role of commercial women’s fiction / chick-lit (or in my case ‘choc-lit’) with first time author Jessica Rudd (yes she is the ex-PMs daughter) and Rebecca Sparrow. Our panel at the festival was passionate and fun and we agreed that there just good fiction and bad fiction and that we should lose the whole literary hierarchy that suggest that works by women about women are crap! Listen peeps – Jane Austen was the original chick lit author! I’m proud of my three ‘chick lit’ titles: Not Meeting Mr Right, Avoiding Mr Right and Manhattan Dreaming (which you can purchase here), and guess what, they sell better than a lot of literary novels, because they engage readers, and that’s all that matters to me. You can read some media on the panel here.
4. KERBSIDE READING: Until this year, I was a kerbside reading virgin. So I am grateful to the BWF program which required me to do a reading from Manhattan Dreaming at Greystone’s Bar and Cellar on a stage outdoor / kerbside stage on Grey Street. I’m also grateful for the lessons I learned from that event. It was a highlight of my time in Bris-Vegas.
5. SISTA SUPPORT: I was grateful to local sistas like Janine Dunleavy who supported me this week at festival events. I’m fully aware that without such fabulous support it could’ve just been me, the barman and the sound engineer at Greystone’s... JD – pictured with me above, is also my Brisbane-based research assistant for my next adult novel set in the fabulously sunny city.

What you can do on September 1st to support Indigenous Literacy Day...

1. BUY A BOOK: Head into a participating bookseller nationally and any purchase you make will assist our fundraising efforts. On Sept 1st 10% or more will be donated for every sale / invoice by the bookseller AND the publisher. So please, consider doing your Christmas shopping on Wednesday and kill two birds with one stone / purchase. To find your nearest participating bookstore click here!
If you’re in Alice Springs, head into Dymocks and buy a copy or two of Fishtails in the dust: writing from the centre published by Ptilotus Press. 10% of sales of this fabulous anthology will go towards the ILP as an ongoing donation. You can also order it on-line here!
2. ATTEND AND EVENT: There are Great Books Swaps happening around the country on Wednesday September 1st, and a few weeks following and you can be part of it. To find out where the nearest event is to you, click here. If there’s not one listed then contact the Indigenous Literacy Project mob on: (02) 9555 5605 / email: karen@indigenousliteracyproject.org.au or better still, organise your own!
3. DONATE ON LINE: Take the easy way out. I often do! And just get on-line and make your donation here. All donations over $2 are tax deductible and every cent is appreciated.
4. DONATE A BOOK BUZZ PACK: The Book Buzz project aims to raise literacy levels of young children living in remote communities by recognising the need for early experience and contact with books. You can make a genuine contribution to the life a child in a remote Indigenous community by sending a book pack which contains 12 wonderful books. Each Book Buzz pack costs $140AUD. Donate one here!
5. RAISE AWARENESS: Allow your staff, students and yourself to stop and read for at least 15 minutes on Wednesday as an act of remembering those who aren’t fortunate enough to enjoy all the benefits that being literate can bring.

What I’m grateful for this weekend... August 28/29...

1. SPARKLES CUPCAKERY: I had a cupcake date at Sparkles Cupcakery in Surry Hills. What a fabulous place for any occasion. When I walked in, I thought it wouldn’t be so bad if the fella didn’t show up because then I could just sit and devour any number of the baked treats. Of course he did show up and I had to settle for only one: the white chocolate and strawberry, and I’m grateful for that but I think next time I’ll have the lemon squeeze, or the oriental flower or maybe even both!
2. COOGEE CATCHUP: There is no better place to be any day of the week than down Coogee Beach (of course, it’s much better when there are no backpackers around). I’m grateful for some stunning weather and company enjoyed at Cerviche overlooking the sea.
3. YUM CHA: Ok, I know there’s a lot of food here, especially for someone who doesn’t cook, but as you know, my life – personal and professional - revolves around breaking bread, so to speak. So, today I was grateful for the long-awaited catch up with friends over yum cha at Regal Marigold in China Town. Now, here’s a novel idea. Sit at a table and just order from an endless convoy of trolleys carrying food. Yes, the perfect Sunday lunch!
4. BELLE FLEUR CHOCOLATES: I am a woman with a complete life. I need for nothing materially and my friends know that. And so, the only thing they feel comfortable giving me sometimes are chocolates. I am SO grateful to Caro who gifted me a nice little box of Belle Fleur chocolates in Balmain today. They are staring at me right now... willing me to undo the ribbon. I am trying to be strong...
4. CRUNCHES: Ok, to be honest, I’m more grateful for Crunchy peanut butter than crunches, but I thought I should add something remotely healthy to today’s blog. Amidst all my ‘indulging’ I did get to the gym twice, and did my fair share of crunches.

Why you should support the Indigenous Literacy Project

The Indigenous Literacy Project is currently funded solely by donations, volunteers and 'in kind' support from the Australian Book Industry – publishers, booksellers, authors, brilliant illustrators. The groundswell of support for ensuring that Indigenous kids have the same opportunities as other Australian kids inspires me, not only an ILP Ambassador and an Australian author, but as a Wiradjuri woman, because in my community I am considered ‘privileged’ simply because I have had all the benefits that being literate can bring.
I work with a range of Indigenous kids; some are speaking English as a second or third language in remote communities, others are in the gifted and talented programs in urban NSW. The differences between both groups are obvious and extreme. The ‘G&T’ kids know how to dream, they have plans for their futures, they have read about Australia, the world and other universes in books, they engage with their friends in chat rooms and on Facebook because they can ie they know how to write. And the self-esteem in the classrooms of the literate kids is heartwarming. You can imagine what the other end of the spectrum is like. It is often heartbreaking.
We all know that low literacy levels are a major issue affecting Indigenous communities, particularly those in remote areas. Being illiterate is a major barrier to education, employment, health and wellbeing.
I just want to flag the most disturbing of the statistics related to the issue:
• Statistics show that by the age of 12, approximately 85 per cent of Indigenous children in remote and isolated areas are unable to read at the minimum level. By the age of 15, more than a third of Australia’s Indigenous students do not have literacy skills good enough to allow them to meet real life challenges.
• There is an enormous gap in literacy rates for Indigenous people living in remote communities and it emerges at an early age. Non-Indigenous students far outperform Indigenous students in benchmark tests for reading, writing and numeracy in Years 3 and 5. By Year 7, the gap has widened (DEET NT 2006).
• In the NT only one in five children living in very remote Indigenous communities can read at the accepted minimum standard. By Year 7, just 15% achieved this benchmark, 47 percentage points behind their urban Indigenous peers and 74 percent less than non-Indigenous students (DEET NT 2006).
What these statistics tell me is that these kids - in all likelihood - will go onto become adults solely reliant on non-Indigenous people to make decisions for them in key areas of their lives. This is the opposite of self-determination for Indigenous people.
This is why it’s important for us – as members of the general public and also in the publishing industry – to continue to support this project and raise awareness however we can.
You can support the Indigenous Literacy project by going on-line here and making a donation or by purchasing a Book Buzz pack to go into one of our many communities. Or you can simply head into a participating bookstore on September 1st and buy some books, because 10% or more of takings by booksellers and publishers on that day will go directly to the ILP cause. To see where the nearest participating bookstore is, click here. Every little bit helps, and the literacy and self-determination of our kids both need your support.

Finally, a HUGE thanks to all those who supported the I HEART ART fundraiser at the Arthouse hotel in Sydney.

On the evening of Wednesday 25 August I Heart brought together a room full of people and the number of red dots on the artworks indicated the attendees love of books and also eagerness to support The Indigenous Literacy Project. Then award-winning writer and illustrator, Shaun Tan, set to and drew a phenomenal piece in front of the two hundred pairs of eyes in the room. The auction of this work immediately raised $3,000, and then Shaun Tan generously donated two more art pieces, which raised a further $5,000.

Many thanks to Elspeth Menzies, Anna McFarlane and Sarah Tran for putting this very special evening together.

‘You are what you imagine, you imagine what you read, and good books open worlds. All of us who support the Indigenous Literacy Project know this intuitively, but we also know that such inspiration can’t exist without an opportunity, and that’s something we can all help to provide.’ Shaun Tan.

What I’m grateful for August 27...

1. ST CATHERINE’S: When I woke up this morning I thought to myself: I've I could be anywhere in the world I today, I would be at St Catherine’s College, Waverley. And lo-and-behold that’s exactly where I found myself a few hours later. I spent the day yarning with students about my life as a writer. You can imagine how difficult it was for me to stand and talk about myself for hours on end. Really, it was a chore! But the students were all delightful, laughing in all the right places and then buying books. In all seriousness, I was grateful for the opportunity to be invited into a community that was so welcoming and quite peaceful.
2. PAPER HATS: I love them, seriously. I rarely leave home without one. So you can understand my sheer delight to find one on the table at the literary lunch I spoke at today. It was made out of two sheets of paper with photos of the Brooklyn Bridge on them. A fine fashion accessory for anyone. I’m still wearing it.
3. WEDGES: I was also grateful to find them at the literary lunch with the students. They are not part of my diet usually, but it’s nice to have the odd fat chip when I can.
4. SNAKES: Not the real live wriggly ones, but the lolly ones. Honestly, I felt like I was a kid’s party today, and I liked it. I was only disappointed that there wasn’t any fairy bread!
5. PINK GERALDTON WAX: No, not for the surfboard, and not in a scented candle, but the pink Geraldton wax flower. I received a gorgeous bunch today with hot and pale pink sweet peas. I always feel special when the doorbell rings and there’s a bouquet waiting when I open the door. I’m grateful for the generosity of those who love me.

What I’m grateful for August 19/ 20...

1. DEADLY STUDENTS: I was fortunate enough to have some very creative, well behaved, totally engaged and interesting students come through my workshops as part of the CLIC festival these past days. A big shout out to the students from Sadadeen, Living Waters, Bradshaw, and OLSH.
2. TEACHERS WHO DO THEIR JOBS: For someone who is not teacher trained and doesn’t have children of their own, I’m not remotely interested or trained in disciplining children in the classroom. So I am grateful to those teachers who don’t see visiting writers as an hour off for them just to read the paper, send text messages or sit and chat with each other. So, thank you to those teachers who involved themselves in the creative writing classes I ran.
3. THREE MINUTES OF FAME: As part of the CLIC festival dinner all authors were asked to speak about their ‘real job’. I was fascinated to learn that Narelle Oliver was a taxidermist, Pamela Lofts was a brain surgeon who performed her own lobotomy, Brian Faulkner was a Kiwi rapper (otherwise known as a Krapper), Archie Fusillo was a political speech writer and I was apparently a ‘lady of the night’. I’ll let you know how that career move is going in due course. I was grateful for the fabulous fun, the friendly locals who welcomed us and all our antics, and to the venue and staff at Madigan’s @ Desert Park. Pic of Pamela and Narelle above.
4. ARALUEN ARTS CENTRE: I spent a wonderful afternoon soaking up some world famous art including originals by Albert Namatjira but also new works in the Namatjira: The next generation collection. It highlighted for me my absolute inability to do anything of the visual arts nature, which made me appreciate the work even more. You can read about the Big hART Namatjira project here.
5. CHOCOLATE DATES: No, I don’t mean dark coloured fellas who take me out to dinner. I mean the fruit! I’ve gained weight this week and I’m convinced it’s because I haven’t been having my regular (to keep me regular) on my oats of a morning. So you can imagine my extreme gratitude to see plate of dates – albeit covered in chocolate – in the writers ‘Green Corner’ (a pseudo green room) at today’s festival. I had to eat them for ‘health reasons’. And they were delicious. I feel better already.

What I'm grateful for in Arrernte country today...

1. CLIC: I’m grateful for the invitation to be a guest writer at the Children’s Literature in the Centre festival, hosted by the NT Children’s Book Council. My days are full of creative kids (Yrs 4,5,6) all creating characters and settings. It’s hard core and it reminds me of the intensely difficult job teachers have!
2. BATCHELORS: I don’t mean single capable men – of course that is spelled differently – although I’d be grateful for a few of those in Alice Springs also. But I’m actually talking about the students I met with from Batchelor College. Frederick Buckskin, Susan Baxter and David Warria had a yarn, a cuppa and some cheesecake with me as I explained my writing and publishing history and suggested ways for them to move forward with their own writing careers/ hobbies. David reckons he saw Avoiding Mr Right being talked about on telly earlier in the year, so he got a gold star for that contribution to the discussion. I was also impressed that he is currently reading Not Meeting Mr Right! See pic above.
3. ARCHIE FUSILLO: The best thing about doing festivals is catching up with friends who live in other cities. I was excited to see the fabulous Archie Fusillo again after meeting for the first time at the Ourimbah Festival on the Central Coast of NSW in 2006 and then again at the Ipswich Festival in QLD in 2007. You can book this dynamic Melbourne-based author for your school or festival. He is very funny...
4. NAKED PEOPLE KNOCKING ON MY DOOR: Well, you can imagine my surprise this morning when there was a knock on the door and there stood a naked writer, wrapped in a tan towel asking for shampoo. I guess it’s an original variation on borrowing the cup of sugar. I think the point here is that they were grateful I actually travel with two bottles of shampoo. Don’t ask me why, I have no idea.
5. FIVE STAR HOTELS: No, I’m not staying in one, and in all honesty I am grateful simply for a warm be and a roof over my head. But there are some days when I am reminded of how grateful I am when I get to stay in a fancy hotel; especially when I am heading to reception at 7am searching out an iron and hairdryer when it’s still dark in the morning.