Anita Heiss further literary papers

MLMSS 12253

fonds

2000-2023

9683670

0.8 metres of textual material (5 boxes)

Dr. Anita Heiss AM (b. 1968) is an internationally published and award-winning Aboriginal Australian author, whose work spans various genres, including commercial fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, and children's novels. A proud member of the Wiradyuri nation of central New South Wales, Heiss is also a passionate advocate for Aboriginal literacy. She serves as an ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the GO Foundation and is a Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland.

References:
- Compiled from the Library’s acquisition file
- Simon & Schuster. “Anita Heiss.” Accessed 31 January 2025.
https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/authors/Anita-Heiss/405826935

BOXES 1-3: BOOKS

BOX 1

Folder 1: Editorial reports, 2007, 2009
Editorial reports for Avoiding Mr Right (Bantam, 2008) and Manhattan Dreaming (Bantam, 2010)

Folder 2: Paris Dreaming (Bantam, 2011), 2009-2011
- Paris visit notebook and research schedule with notes
- Synopsis, story and publication timelines, editorial reports, style sheets
- Correspondence Random House Australia, including proofs

Folders 3-4: Tiddas (Simon & Schuster Australia, 2014), 2011-2014
- Editorial report and style guide
- Marketing and media campaign notes
- Drafts (3) with annotations, including first and copy-edited second draft

Folder 5: Harry’s secret; Barbed wire and cherry blossoms
- Harry’s secret (Scholastic Australia, 2015)
Synopsis with notes on verso
- Barbed wire and cherry blossoms (Simon & Schuster Australia, 2016), 2014-2016
Research notebooks (2), rough draft synopsis with notes, editorial report and other feedback

Folder 6: Research Barbed wire and cherry blossoms
Research notes and materials relating to Cowra and Japan, including printouts of Cowra Guardian newspaper articles

Folder 7: Drafts Barbed wire and cherry blossoms, approximately 2015
First and second draft with annotations


BOX 2

Folder 1: Koori princess (Magabala Books, 2022)
Notebook, first and second draft with annotations

Folder 2: Am I black enough for you?; Am I black enough for you? 10 years on
- Am I black enough for you? (Bantam, 2012), 2011-2012
Editorial report, paperback cover layout, photocopies chapter ‘Introduction: who am I?’
- Am I black enough for you? 10 years on (Vintage Australia, 2022)
First draft with annotations

Folder 3: Am I black enough for you? 10 years on, 2021
Proof copy with annotations

Folder 4: Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (Simon & Schuster Australia, 2022), approximately 2020
Notebook with research notes, report historical legal research, editorial reports

Folders 5-6: Research Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray
Research material and notes (mainly photocopies)


BOX 3

Folders 1-3: Drafts Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, 2019-2020
Drafts (4) with annotations, including copy-edited draft

Folder 4: Proof Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, 2020
Proof (draft) with annotations

Folder 5: The tightening grip (Anita Heiss and students St Laurence's College in South Brisbane, Queensland), 2012
- Workshop notes and material
- Student writings and notes relating to storyline ideas and characters
- Research material
- Draft versions, including printouts of email correspondence


BOXES 4-5: SCRIPTS AND MISCELLANEOUS


BOX 4: Tiddas (play, La Boite Theatre, Brisbane Festival 2022), approximately 2020-2022

Folder 1: Notebook; program
Notebook, program Brisbane Festival 2022, Scenestr magazine issue with Tiddas review

Folders 2-3: Tiddas miscellaneous material
Notes, synopsis and story breakdown, annotated monologues and scene breakdowns, La Boite Theatre Company set design plans, correspondence. Also includes Steven Oliver’s script ‘Bigger and Blacker’.

Folders 4-7: Script drafts (6) with annotations


BOX 5

Folder 1: Tiddas (play, Belvoir St Theatre), 2023
Draft scripts (2) with annotations

Folder 2: Checkerboard love (short film, Metro Screen, 2004), 2003-2004
Story concept, script drafts, script feedback and suggestions

Folder 3: Token Kooris: blackfellas for hire (dramedy television series with Geoffrey Atherden), 2002-2003
- Annotated drafts of episode outlines, concept document with synopsis and character profiles, development plan
- Printouts of email correspondence relating to feedback and meeting notes
- Screen-writing workshop notes by Anita Heiss

Folder 4: Transcript oral history Anita Heiss, 2000, 2007
Transcript of interview with Anita Heiss by Peter Rea, Oral History Collection, National Library of Australia. Includes a letter relating to transcript corrections, 2007

Folder 5: Miscellaneous, 2016-2020
- Letters from students of Mulyan Public School in Cowra relating to Anita Heiss’s book ‘Who am I? The diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937’, 2016
- Annotated essay proof ‘Excellence by creative disruption’, 2020
- Poster ‘Dawn Wail for the Dead’ by Judy Watson, Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art

Copyright restrictions may apply:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy copyright holder