“What has changed in the last decade is that Aboriginal writers now appear in greater numbers, and we get to speak for ourselves, rather than being spoken about by some colonial hack or ignored completely.”
Meanjin
Tony Birch is a founding member of the Melbourne School of Discontent. He has published three novels; The White Girl, Ghost River and Blood. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to Australian literature. In 2021 he released two new books, a poetry book, Whisper Songs and a new short story collection, Dark As Last Night. His website is www.tony-birch.com
Read Tony Birch’s full speech here.