BOOK LAUNCH
3-4pm Sunday 18 April
Muse, East Hotel, Kingston Canberra ACT
Anita Heiss Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray
Gundagai, 1852
The powerful Murrumbidgee River surges through town leaving death and destruction in its wake. It is a stark reminder that while the river can give life, it can just as easily take it away.
Wagadhaany is one of the lucky ones. She survives. But is her life now better than the fate she escaped? Forced to move away from her miyagan, she walks through each day with no trace of dance in her step, her broken heart forever calling her back home to Gundagai.
When she meets Wiradyuri stockman Yindyamarra, Wagadhaany’s heart slowly begins to heal. But still, she dreams of a better life, away from the degradation of being owned. She longs to set out along the river of her ancestors, in search of lost family and country. Can she find the courage to defy the White man’s law? And if she does, will it bring hope ... or heartache?
Set on timeless Wiradyuri country, where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (‘River of Dreams’) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging.
Hear Anita Heiss talk about and read from Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, and join us for the launch by Aunty Elaine Lomas.
‘A powerful story of family, place and belonging.’
Kate Grenville
‘A remarkable story of courage and a love of country. The tenacity of an Aboriginal woman, Wagadhaany, is made possible by the deep strength of the earth she walks on ... It is a story that hums with contemporary resonance. Anita Heiss writes with heart and energy on every page of this novel.’
Tony Birch, author of The White Girl
V
Free event but bookings essential
Dr Anita Heiss is an award-winning author of non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction, children’s novels and blogs. She is a proud member of the Wiradjuri Nation of central New South Wales, an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, the GO Foundation and Worawa Aboriginal College. Anita is a board member of University of Queensland Press and Circa Contemporary Circus, and is a Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland. Her novel Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms set in Cowra during World War II, was the 2020 University of Canberra Book of the Year.
Venue
Muse, East Hotel
69 Canberra Ave, Kingston ACT
T: (02) 6178 0024