Walking into Sydney’s iconic Abbey’s Bookshop, I noticed a prominent display of books devoted to the campaign to recognise Indigenous peoples in the Australian Constitution. Some of the books were new to me; all were written with great care and doubtless published for the moment. Marcia Langton’s The Welcome to Country Handbook: A guide to Indigenous Australia wasn’t among them, perhaps be ... (read more)
Sandra R. Phillips
Sandra R. Phillips, a member of the Wakka Wakka and Gooreng Gooreng nations in Queensland, Sandra is a member of the Indigenous professoriate at the University of Technology Sydney, where she currently coordinates Indigenous Higher Degree by Research. Her research interest lies in Indigenous creativity. She is published in diverse outlets. Sandra is also a director of the board of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), a member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), and, since 2014, has provided First Nations engagement advice to the Women of the World Global Festival.
If the number of reviews and interviews are indicators of a new book’s impact, Tony Birch’s novel The White Girl has landed like a B-format sized asteroid. Birch’s publisher estimates a substantial number of reviews and other features since publication. I’ve consulted none of them. Usually I can’t help myself from immersing myself in any and all artefacts of literary reception. With The ... (read more)