Six Indigenous authors have been shortlisted for the 2025 black&write! Writing Fellowships, a national program run by the State Library of Queensland.

The shortlisted works are;

Moodu Gutta Will Get Ya by Marilyn 'Marly' Hooper (QLD) - Children's.

Black Beatles by Angelina Hurley (QLD) - Adult Fiction.

Letters to Live By by Joyrah Sebasio (QLD) - Poetry.

Black and White by Mariah Sweetman (QLD) - Adult Fiction.

Dampa for Grampa by Scott Wilson (WA) - Children's.

Whichway Shimmering Dust by K.A. Ren Wyld (SA) - Adult Fiction.

Ms Hooper is a Kooma/Kunja woman from Cunnamulla in southwest Queensland.

Her children's book celebrates water and cultural teachings, drawing from memories with her grandmothers. She works as Indigenous Community Coordinator at Leichhardt State School.

Ms Hurley is an Indigenous academic and creative writer based in Queensland.

Her novel Black Beatles draws from her research on Aboriginal humour and storytelling.

She is a Fulbright Indigenous Scholar and holds research positions at Griffith and RMIT universities.

Ms Sebasio is a poet from Bamaga in Far North Queensland.

Her collection Letters to Live By is written in Kala Lagaw Ya and reflects her cultural connections to Mabuyag and Badu islands in Zenadth Kes.

Ms Sweetman is a Ugarapul woman living on Gubbi Gubbi Country.

Her adult fiction novel Black and White continues her work in helping people engage with Indigenous stories and history through both writing and painting.

Mr Wilson is a Gooniyandi and Gajerrong man from Western Australia.

His children's manuscript Dampa for Grampa follows his broader creative work as co-founder of INDIGIVERSE, and as a regular guest at national comic conventions.

Mr Wyld, of Martu descent, is based on Kaurna Yerta country.

His shortlisted novel Whichway Shimmering Dust adds to a diverse body of work that includes poetry, nonfiction, and the 2020 Dorothy Hewett Award-winning novel Where the Fruit Falls.

Since 2011, the black&write! Fellowships have supported Indigenous writers across genres, with 20 titles published to date.

The program offers two writers $15,000, manuscript development with black&write! editors, and publication through University of Queensland Press.

Winners will be announced on 20 May 2025 at the State Library of Queensland.