Anita Heiss
Dr. Anita Heiss | |
|---|---|
 Heiss in 2017 | |
| Born | Anita Marianne Heiss 1968 (age 55–56) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | University of New South Wales, Western Sydney University |
| Occupation(s) | Author, presenter, commentator |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Anita Marianne Heiss (born 1968) is an Aboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator.
Early life and education
Heiss was born in Sydney in 1968, and is a member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales. Her mother, Elsie Williams, was born at Erambie Mission, Cowra in Wiradjuri country, while her father, Josef Heiss, was born in St Michael in the Lungau, Salzburg, Austria.[1]
Heiss was educated at St Clare's College, Waverley, then at the University of New South Wales, where she completed her Bachelor of Arts in History (Honours) in 1991.[citation needed] She gained her PhD in Communication and Media at the University of Western Sydney in 2000, becoming the first Aboriginal student at the university to achieve this, which she considers her proudest achievement.[2]
Career
Heiss is known as an author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator.[3] Her work spans non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women's fiction, poetry, social commentary and travel articles.[4]
Heiss is an advocate for Indigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her membership of boards and committees. She is a Board Member for the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy,[3] an Advocate for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence and an Indigenous Literacy Day Ambassador.[1][self-published source?]
Since 2000 Heiss has undertaken writers-in-residence positions at Macquarie University, Sydney, and throughout NSW.
She was Deputy-Director at Warawara Department of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University; Communications Advisor, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts; and consultant researcher / writer for the Aboriginal History website at the City of Sydney.
Heiss was appointed to the State Library of Queensland board in 2017.[5]
Heiss is Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland and was Adjunct Professor at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning (now Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research[6]) at the University of Technology, Sydney,[7] from 2012–2014.[8]
She runs her own communications business, Curringa Communications.[9]
Other roles
Heiss is Ambassador of the GO Foundation (founded by Adam Goodes, Michael O'Loughlin and James Gallichan)[10]; the Worawa Aboriginal College[11] and the Sydney Swans Australian rules football club.[1]
Bibliography
Non-fiction
- Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia (editor) (Black Inc, 2018) ISBN 9781863959810
- Am I Black Enough For You (Random House, 2012) ISBN 9781742751924
- Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature edited Anita Heiss and Peter Minter (Allen & Unwin Sydney 2008) ISBN 978 1 74175 438 4
- Dhuuluu-yala, To Talk Straight: Publishing indigenous literature (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2003) ISBN 0-85575-444-3
Novels
- Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms, (2016), Simon & Schuster Australia, ISBN 9781925184846
- Tiddas (Simon & Schuster, Australia 2014) ISBN 978 1 92205 2285
- Paris Dreaming (Bantam, Australia 2011) ISBN 9781741668933
- Manhattan Dreaming (Bantam, Australia 2010) ISBN 978 1 86471 1288
- Avoiding Mr Right (Bantam, Australia 2008) ISBN 9781863256049
- Not Meeting Mr. Right (Bantam, Australia 2007) ISBN 978-1-86325-511-0
Children's literature
- Who am I? The diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937 (Scholastic, Australia 2001) ISBN 1-86504-361-3
- Yirra and her deadly dog, Demon (ABC Books, 2007) ISBN 978-0-7333-2039-2
- Demon Guards the School Yard (OUP / Laguna Bay, Australia 2011) ISBN 9780195572568
- My Australian Story: Our Race for Reconciliation (Scholastic, Australia 2017) ISBN 9781760276119
Poetry
- Token Koori (Curringa Communications, 1998) ISBN 0-646-35290-3
- I'm Not Racist, But ... (Salt, 2007) ISBN 978-1-84471-316-5
Humour
- Sacred cows (Magabala, 1996) ISBN 1-875641-25-4
As editor
- Life in Gadigal Country (Gadigal Information Service, 2002) ISBN 0 9580923 0 3
- Stories without End (Halstead Press, Australia, 2002) ISBN 1875684956
Awards, fellowships and grants
- 1994/1996/2011 – Writer's Grants from the Australia Council for the Arts
- June 1997 – ANZAC Fellowship (NZ Department of External Affairs) to New Zealand to meet Maori authors and publishers
- 2002 – Winner: NSW Premier's History Award (Audio Visual) for Barani: the Aboriginal History of the City of Sydney[12]
- 2002 – Shortlist: NSW Premier's History Award (Young People's History) for Who Am I? The diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937[3]
- 2003 – Winner: inaugural Australian Society of Authors Medal for contribution to Australian community and life[13][14]
- 2004 – NSW Indigenous Arts Fellowship
- 2004 – Nominee: Deadly Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Literature[15]
- 2007 – Winner: Deadly Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Literature for Not Meeting Mr Right.[16]
- 2008 – Winner: Deadly Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Literature, with Peter Minter, for the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature[17]
- 2010 – Winner: Deadly Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Literature for Manhattan Dreaming[18]
- 2011 – Winner: Deadly Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Literature for Paris Dreaming[19]
- 2012 – Finalist: Human Rights Awards, Media, for Am I Black Enough for You?[20]
- 2012 – Winner: Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing for Am I Black Enough for You?[21]
References
- ^ a b c Heiss, Anita. "Welcome to Anita Heiss online!". Anita Heiss. Retrieved 12 February 2014.[self-published source?]
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Anita Heiss. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "Anita Heiss". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Anita Heiss". Reading Australia. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Media Statements". Queensland Government. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research". University of Technology Sydney. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "New books by UTS Authors | UTS Library - University of Technology Sydney". UTS Library. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "UTS Calendar 2014" (Document). University of Technology Sydney. December 2013. p. 24.
{{cite document}}: Unknown parameter|url=ignored (help) - ^ "ABN Lookup". Australian Business Register. Australian Government. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "People". GO Foundation. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ Note: Not listed on school site as of Feb 2021.
- ^ "City of Sydney's Barani Website wins prestigious NSW Premier's History Awards in the audio/visual category". City of Sydney. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
- ^ "ASA Medal". Australian Society of Authors. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
- ^ "The ASA Medal". Australian Society of Authors. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Anita Heiss Wins Deadly Award". Copyright Agency. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "2007 Winners". Deadly Vibe. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Deadlys 2008 Winners Announced!". 17 October 2008. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "2010 Deadly Awards | The Deadlys®". Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "17th Deadlys Winner Profiles" (PDF). Deadly Awards. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
- ^ "Nominees for the 25th Human Rights Awards announced (2012 Media Release) | Australian Human Rights Commission". www.humanrights.gov.au. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing: Winner and Shortlist Announced". Wheeler Centre. 5 September 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1968 births
- Living people
- Writers from Sydney
- University of New South Wales alumni
- Western Sydney University alumni
- Macquarie University faculty
- University of Technology Sydney faculty
- 20th-century Australian writers
- 21st-century Australian novelists
- 20th-century Australian women writers
- 21st-century Australian women writers
- Australian women novelists
- Australian people of Austrian descent
- Wiradjuri
- Indigenous Australian writers