On Tuesday 21 November, a small crowd gathered at the Belconnen Arts Centre.  They were treated to not one but two book launches. Too Deadly: Our Voice, Our Way, Our Business was developed by Us Mob Writing Group. A Pocketful of Leadership in First Nations Australia Communities edited by Kerry Reed-Gilbert was the second publication launched.

Us Mob Writing group are made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers based in Canberra. They have previously published By Close of Business, a poetry anthology, in 2013. Too Deadly: Our Voice, Our Way, Our Business was developed with funding assistance from the Australia Council for the Arts.

Featured writers include: Lisa Fuller, Michelle Bedford, Yullara Reed, Chella Goldwin, Samia Goudie, Brenda Gifford, Kerry Reed-Gilbert, Barrina South, Marissa McDowell, Joyce Graham and Samantha Faulkner.

Too Deadly, comes with strong endorsement from Bruce Pascoe, “Aboriginal writers gather around the same campfire in Canberra’s winter. Their words blaze.” Melissa Lucashenko adds “the writing in this collection will take you on a journey through the lives of First Nations women, men and youth ….  It is a rare privilege to be allowed into the experience of the world’s oldest culture, mediated through the written word, and filtered through the shared experiences of a diverse Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander collective who have now shared love, laughter and creative practice.”

A Pocketful of Leadership in First Nations Australia Communities was made possible with funding from the ACT government, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural grants program. Contributors to the publication included:  Anita Heiss, Benny Hodges, Bev Whyte, Brenda L Croft, Bunja Eric Smith, Caroline Hughes, Charmaine Green, Duncan Smith, Euroka Gilbert, Jared Thomas, Joanne Chivers, John Maynard, Kerrie Tim, Lesa Reed, Lyn Talbot, Marissa McDowell, Masepah Banu, Maurice Walker, Michelle Bedford, Richard Weston, Rod Little, Russell Taylor, Peter Minter, Peter Radoll, Samantha Faulkner and Samuel Radoll.

It is a second and expanded edition by Kerry Reed-Gilbert as it brings together writers from the first edition with a new group of people who hope to inspire and to lead.