Pair to launch published titles at Townsville festival

TWO Papua New Guinean book award winners from the 2023 First Nations Writers Festival (FNWF) will officially launch their now-published titles in Townsville, Australia, in May.
They are Paul Puri Nii, author of Birth of a Tribe, and fellow Papua New Guinean John W. Kuri, author of The Atrocity at Kerwanba.
The launching will take place during this year’s FNWF, an Australian festival founded to showcase the unique and culturally-rich stories of Australia, the Greater Pacific, and beyond.
Entries for this year’s festival are now open.
The 2024 festival has been scheduled for May 24-25 at the Queensland Museum and Seaview Hotel in Townsville.
A media statement from the organisers said the festival gives First Nations writers across several regions – including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and the Pacific Islands – the chance to have their books and short stories awarded cash prizes and possibly published.
It explained that the FNWF is a registered charity, and founder Anna Borzi AM said it plays a critical role in unearthing magnificent stories from our region to share with the world.
“It’s crucial these writers can tell their stories, their way, to preserve and celebrate their unique cultural heritage,” Borzi said.
“It is profoundly important the stories of the Greater Pacific are told and told authentically.
“With that in mind, each author submitting a work must be indigenous to the country they are from, and their entry must be a previously unpublished original work, written in English.
“We are gathering First Nations’ stories in written form and taking them to the world, and we cannot wait to read and share more stories,” she said.
All expressions of interest for books must be lodged by March 31, while short story submissions are due on March 30.
Book award winners could receive a cash prize of up to A$5,000 (K12,300) and short story winners of up to A$500 (K1,230). Winning authors will be announced during the May festival in Townsville.
FNWF author Joshua Torenn said the launch of his thriller, The Bandits Among Us, last year was a life-changing event.
“When I learned I was a winner of the First Nations Writers Festival book award, I was super excited.
“This is the first novel to be published from the Solomon Islands in 40 years – imagine that,” he said.
Emceeing the festival is Peter Rockford Espiritu, a Hawaiian Disney consultant and artistic director of Tau Dance Theatre who said it was an honour to present the stories of Pacific Island peoples.
“To share with our global village the continuation of our oral traditions in print while elevating the quality of life for Oceanic peoples, by rewarding their efforts, is a wave I am ecstatic to ride,” he said.
“As a member of the Circle of Knowledge and MC, I am humbled and proud to celebrate the vibrant, resilient, and relevant stories of the Pacific people.”