An interview with Anita Heiss

Anita Heiss is the author of non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction, poetry, social commentary, and travel articles. She is a Lifetime Ambassador of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and a proud member of the Wiradyuri nation of central New South Wales. If you could go anywhere tomorrow, where would it be, and why? If there hadn’t been such devastating fires on the island of Maui, that would be where I would fly to tomorrow – because it is one of the very few places where I allow myself to absolutely and completely relax without guilt. The sunsets touch my heart. And the cocktails help me sway among the palm trees. What’s your idea of hell? Sitting on a plane with screaming babies. There’s one near me as I write this flying from Wagga Wagga back to Brisbane. What do you consider the most specious virtue? Confidence. What’s your favourite film? The Sapphires. And your favourite book? Kath Walker’s We Are Going, published in 1964. It was the first book of poetry published by an Aboriginal person. Kath Walker later changed her name to Oodgeroo Noonuccal in 1988 in protest against the Bicentenary. Name the three people with whom you would most like to dine. I think dining with Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Larissa Behrendt would be one hell of an experience. Deadly women left and right. Which word do you most dislike? I could do without ‘epistemology’. Who is your favourite author? That is an unfair question. But, I’ve read everything the late Ruby Langford Ginibi ever wrote, and she was a huge influence on me as an emerging writer. And your favourite literary hero or heroine? I don’t know why, but when I was younger, I really liked Jane Austen’s Emma. When I re-read it a few years ago, I thought to myself, ‘She’s a bit of a bitch.’ Which quality do you most admire in a writer? I love it when place is written about so vividly that it makes me want to go there. I recently read Susan Johnson’s Aphrodite’s Breath (while I was in Maui in April 2023) and it transported me mentally to Kythera, but now I would really love to visit. Name an early literary idol or influence whom you no longer admire. I once admired J.K. Rowing, but then ... transphobic comments ... Do you have a favourite podcast, apart from ABR’s one of course? Black Magic Woman and I do love Oprah’s Super Soul. What, if anything, impedes your writing? Commitments to too many other projects, so essentially, a lack of hours in the day, FOMO, and an inability to say no without guilt, sometimes! What qualities do you look for in critics, and which ones do you enjoy reading? I appreciate a critic who will be honest and say that a work doesn’t speak to them, or that they don’t understand a work, rather than just trashing the story or its creator. How do you find working with editors? I generally love the editorial process. By the time I have submitted my manuscript I’ve looked at it so many times, I can’t see what needs to be fixed. I know the job of the editor is to bring an eye that I don’t necessarily have. There are rare moments when I’m frustrated by the process, and that’s when the editor knows less than me about the content and therefore, I’m having to educate and explain why characters say or do certain things. Also, with six books out this year, I have found dealing with editing and proofing etc has been over-the-top challenging. What do you think of writers’ festivals? As someone who likes to be fully prepared for all my sessions, festivals are a lot of work (and for me some anxiety), before even arriving on site. After attending festivals for nearly three decades, the novelty of the travel etc. has long worn off. I really appreciate the smaller, more intimate festivals where locals relish the opportunity to talk to authors, and where every writer is treated as someone special, not just the ‘big names’. Are artists valued in our society? After an incredible three-month residency earlier this year at the Cité International des Arts in Paris thanks to the Australia Council, I think artists – particularly writers – are valued in French society, but far less so in Australia. What are you working on now? A new historical novel about the Wiradyuri Wars in the 1820s.

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