Japarrika Rises

Tiwi College is located on Melville Island, which is part of a group of islands called Tiwi Islands, 70 km north of Darwin in the Northern Territory. Each year several girls from the senior classes are chosen to participate in the Create Initiative with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and an Australian publisher where they write, illustrate and publish a book in week.

Shelley Ware is a proud Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu woman from Adelaide, South Australia, who currently lives in Melbourne and is well known as part of the ground-breaking NITV football programs Marngrook and The Point.

For the past decade or so, Shelley has worked in the media as a radio, podcast, print and television presenter on both local and national AFL football news shows.

Shelley is a teacher, curriculum resource writer and education consultant who supports teachers and students in embedding First Nations culture and history into their everyday curriculum.

David Lawrence is a comedy writer/performer who accidentally became a children’s author in 2008. He has written for numerous TV shows including Hamish & Andy, Comedy Inc., and Talkin’ About Your Generation, and is cast member of the ABC3 children’s sketch comedy show, You’re Skitting Me. His books, Anna Flowers and the three part Fox Swift series, have sporting themes and use humour to tackle issues such as bullying and racism in schools. David still hopes to play AFL football and win a Brownlow Medal ... but at age 51, it’s going to be tough.