Celebrating First Nations Stories

By Rowan Simpkin

The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature was pleased to welcome Ben Bowen, CEO of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) to the Centre in July this year. Ben was in Canberra to talk at the National Library of Australia (NLA) about the work the ILF does and to support the Wangka Wakanutja: The story of the Papunya Literature Production Centre, exhibition. There is a video and a transcript available about this Production Centre. Resources for teachers can be downloaded from the National Library’s website.

The ILF has been donating a copy of their books to NCACL for a number of years. They have published over 350 books, many are in Language or are bilingual. NCACL is pleased to house these books which are available to view with many being included in our database the Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource. Here is a selection of books published by the ILF.

What is less known is the ILF’s work with over 500 Indigenous communities where they send out boxes of reading materials for children, their families and schools to engage with. In the past year alone over one million books were sent out. The books are carefully chosen to engage with young readers. Ben describes books as mirrors, windows, maps and bridges; to recognise oneself through books allows the reader to engage, connect and learn.

Before the ILF there were Literature Production Centres (LPC) that produced books in Language for students in remote bilingual schools. The Papunya LPC is the best known of these, producing over 350 books from 1979 to 1990. Funding for bilingual education has since stopped so accessing books in Language has become increasingly difficult. The NLA’s exhibition, Wangka Wakanutja: The story of the Papunya Literature Production Centre, tells the story of the LPC with original books, illustrations, films and more. The exhibition is open until 31 Jan 2027. To see the work being done by the LPC shows how groundbreaking their books were.

Following on from the work being done by Papunya and other Literature Production Centres, The ILF has produced books in 45 Indigenous languages, working closely with young people, families, schools along with ILF Ambassadors to create quality books that are distributed as part of the ILFs book box program. Many are also available in good bookshops or through the ILF’s website.

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the NCACL’s Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource both showcase the importance of celebrating First Nations Stories and their role in maintaining connections to culture, country and language. Ben’s visit to NCACL and then to the NLA was so informative and we learned much about the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Thank you Ben for your time and passion.

We’d also like to thank Ben for his generous offer to send the NCACL any available ILF children’s books not already held.

Rowan Simpkin is a retired primary school teacher with a passion for children’s books. She taught for 12 years in remote Northern Territory schools before returning to the ACT where she worked as a teacher with a particular interest in literacy, EALD and Indigenous Education. Since retiring Rowan has been volunteering at the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature.

Posted by: NCACL | Published: 06 Nov 2026