NAIDOC Week 2026: 50 Years of Deadly
July 5-12 2026 is NAIDOC week! The theme of this year is 50 Years of Deadly: fifty years of celebration and pride, survival and resistance. We pay our respects to the Elders and the communities that built this movement, showing up and celebrating the world’s oldest living culture since 1976 (and before that too).
As booksellers, we want to highlight just a fraction of the stories, histories and rich knowledge that has been shared down generations and continues to inspire and inform us today. Check out our picks below:
Adult Non-Fiction
The Knowledge by Victor Steffensen
Filled with stories of Victor's work applying Indigenous solutions throughout Australia and in North America, The Knowledge will transform the way you think about our responses to bushfires, floods and the climate crisis. Never has the call to change our global environmental approach been so strong or so clear. The Knowledge is a must-read for anyone concerned about the future of our planet.
The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love? by Kaylene Whiskey, ed. Natalie King
Kaylene Whiskey's paintings dazzle with brightly coloured pop stars rendered in dots and set amongst her own community in remote Central Australia. She depicts female pop culture icons - including Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Catwoman, Cher and Wonder Woman - all connected to the Kungkarangkalpa Tjukurpa, or Seven Sisters Story. These heroines, however, are shown partying at Iwantja Art Centre in Indulkana, South Australia.
Aunty Beryl’s Cookbook by Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo
In this beautiful cookbook, Aunty Beryl shares recipes that are close to her heart and stories from her life of cooking. This is food that is both familiar and comforting, and which champions native ingredients. Aunty Beryl's Cookbook is a way of sharing culture and passing down food knowledge for future generations.
Kids and Teen
One Word by Melissa-Jane
Inspired by the author's own experiences, One Word is one little girl's story about discovering her grandfather's first Aboriginal language, and his journey towards reclaiming that language.
Belonging by Ambelin Kwaymullina
BELONGING is a First Nations poetic reflection on Country and the everlasting ties that bind us. A lyrical narrative full of the eternal interconnectedness of our families: land, water, sky, earth, space, time, story and language.
Good Young Men by Gary Lonesborough
A brilliant contemporary YA coming-of-age novel about three small-town Aboriginal friends finding their way towards adulthood, from the multi-award-winning author of The Boy from the Mish, We Didn't Think It Through and I'm Not Really Here.
Adult Fiction
The Paradise Pact by Anita Heiss
Recovering from a bad break-up, Abbey travels with her two tiddas to Hawai'i where personal challenges, laughter and new love await. Paradise beckons in this heartwarming and contemporary novel!
Melaleuca by Angie Faye Martin
A country town, a brutal murder, a shameful past, a reckoning to come... The injustices of the past and dangers of the present envelop Aboriginal policewoman Renee Taylor, when her unwilling return to the small outback town of her childhood plunges her into the investigation of a brutal murder.
Joey and the Junjardy by Allison Rocca
A funny, raucous romp grounded in First Nations storytelling, featuring a mischievous character brought to life by debut author Allison Rocca.
Action-packed with loads of humour and heart, Joey and the Junjardy shows us how the smallest of creatures can help you to stand tall and proud.
Damn Good Television by Loki Liddle
Gritty, bloodsoaked and unsentimental, Loki Liddle's debut work takes readers on a deranged road trip from Coolangatta to Broome. Along the way, he consumes and spits out western popular culture and connects to the voices of his Jabirr Jabirr ancestors, weaving past, present and fiction together in a surreal and unforgettable feature.
A Piece of Red Cloth
Batjani's beloved granddaughter Garritji is on the cusp of womanhood, about to go through the rituals preparing her for marriage. Batjani uses all means at her disposal to protect her granddaughter from the visiting Macassan trepang fishers, but she is betrayed. Can Garritji be saved?
This powerful and unique novel is based on oral history and told through Yolngu eyes, with ancestors as the Yolngu remember them: proud, strong, resilient people in control of their world and interacting with foreigners on their own terms.