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The celebration for the 2021 BOP – Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year is a key part of the BCBF Online Special Edition. The BOP Prize is awarded each year to showcase editorial projects, professional skills and intellectual qualities of work from publishing houses all over the world. Let’s meet Magabala Books, nominee for Oceania!
Magabala Books is Australia’s leading Indigenous publishing house. Aboriginal owned and led, we celebrate and nurture the talent and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices. Based in Broome, Western Australia, we publish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, artists and illustrators from all over Australia. An independent, not-for-profit Indigenous Corporation, Magabala is governed by a dedicated Board of Kimberley Aboriginal educators, business professionals and creative practitioners.
Magabala publishes up to 15 new titles annually across a range of genres: children’s picture books, memoir, fiction (junior, YA and adult), non-fiction, graphic novels, social history and poetry. We also keep a substantial backlist in print and our earliest titles stand strong alongside new releases in the trade and are of significant cultural importance.Magabala’s commitment to developing new and emerging Indigenous writers, illustrators and one-time storytellers, sets us apart from other publishers. Our program of professional development is unparalleled in the industry.Our award-winning titles are recognised for their literary merit, cultural significance and contribution to the canon of Australian literature. Magabala Books is an advocate and guardian, protecting the cultural and intellectual property rights of all our creators. We play a significant advisory role within the publishing industry, modelling best practice for the publishing of Indigenous stories. Magabala also delivers a range of innovative social and cultural initiatives.Every Magabala Book purchased is an investment in Indigenous creative, cultural and economic futures.
Ambelin Kwaymullina, Billie and the Blue Bike, 2020, Magabala Books
Kunyi June Anne McInerney, Kunyi,2021, Magabala Books
Shirley Purdie, Shirley Purdie: My Story, Ngaginybe Jarragbe, 2020, Magabala Books