Hallie and the Heart Stone

Dr Amy Thunig-McGregor (B.Arts; M.Teach; PhD) is a Gamilaroi/Kamilaroi academic and author who strives to hold community, joy and whimsy at the heart of their life – whether that’s online, in print, or at home on beautiful Awabakal Country. An occasional festival guest curator (Sydney Writer’s Festival, 2024; All About Women Festival, Sydney Opera House, 2023), and public speaker, Amy is best known for their engaging non-fiction work, including their acclaimed memoir Tell Me Again (2022, UQP) and TEDx talk Disruption is not a dirty word (2019). In 2027 their first work of middle-grade fiction Hallie and the Heart Stone, which Amy co-created with Gamilaraay/Yuwaalaraay storyteller Odee, will be published via Penguin Random House. Amy and Odee are thrilled that this will be a dual-language publication, allowing readers to journey with Hallie in both English and long-form Gamilaraay. Amy proudly identifies as neurodivergent (AUDHD) and queer, and preferences the pronouns they/them.

Odee is a Gamilaraay–Yuwaalaraay man who strives to follow in the footsteps of his Maran (ancestors). For generations, his family have worked to maintain and revive their language and culture, and Odee’s work is a continuation of that legacy today. His passion for language revitalisation sees him working in various educational settings from community group settings, early childhood education, primary and secondary schools, as well as the tertiary sector including at The Australian National University (ANU). Through the organisation Maran.Giirr Odee is focused on training a team of Gamilaraay language educators, which will expand language learning opportunities and contribute significantly to the language reawakening movement. Residing in Tamworth, on the eastern periphery of Gamilaraay territory, Odee has ancestral roots extending to its western boundary, specifically the Coonamble and Walgett regions, where Gamilaraay converges with Wayilwan and Yuwaalaraay. His work within his home community saw him nominated for a Community Leadership Award by the Tamworth NAIDOC committee in 2024. It is Odee’s hope to inspire others to join him on this journey of revitalising our ancestral tongue.