A Companion to the Works of Kim Scott

Since the mid-1980s there has been a sharp rise in the number of literary publications by Indigenous Australians and in the readership and impact of those works. One contemporary Aboriginal Australian author who continues to makea contribution to both the Australian and the global canon is Kim Scott (1957-). Scott has won many awards, including Australia’s highest, the prestigious Miles Franklin Award, for his novels Benang (in 2000) and That Deadman Dance (in 2011). Scott has also published in other literary genres, including poetry, the short story, and children’s literature, and he has written and worked professionally on Indigenous health issues. Despite Scott'snational and international acclaim, there is currently no comprehensive critical companion that contextualizes his work for scholars, students, and general readers. A Companion to the Works of Kim Scott fills this void by providing a collection of eleven original essays focusing on Scott’s novels, short stories, poetry, and his work with the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project and Indigenous health. The companion also includes an originalinterview with the author.

Contributors: Christine Choo, Arindam Das, Per Henningsgaard, Tony Hughes-d'Aeth, Jeanine Leane, Brenda Machosky, Nathanael Pree, Natalie Quinlivan, Lydia Saleh Rofail, Lisa Slater, Rosalie Thackrah and Sandra Thompson, Belinda Wheeler, Gillian Whitlock and Roger Osborne.

Belinda Wheeler is Associate Professor of English at Claflin University, Orangeburg, South Carolina.