Imagine living with giant wombats the size of your house, or kangaroos taller than a lamp post, or birds the size of a football field. Welcome to Wylah’s world, where gigantic megafauna Guardians protect their tribes from invading dragons and magical Totems are used in epic battles.
We’ve had the chance to check out Wylah: The Koorie Warrior before its release later this year on 31 May. It’s the first book in a new Indigenous middle-grade fantasy adventure series for children ages 8 – 14. The series is created by co-author Jordan Gould, a proud Peek Whurrong man who is passionate about teaching and talking to groups about culture, language and reconciliation, and co-author and illustrator Richard Pritchard, a New Zealand-born Samoan Visual Effects Artist who now lives in Australia and has worked on films such as Mad Max Fury Road, Pacific Rim Uprising, Happy Feet, The Great Gatsby and Prometheus.
Enthusiasm for Wylah has been building for a while! In 2020, Jordan and Richard launched a Kickstarter campaign for a special edition of Wylah, meeting their $20,000 goal in three days and sparking national media interest. A video on SBS about Wylah now has over half a million views. Since then, Jordan and Richard have teamed up with Albert Street Books for the official release on 31 May this year.
The hero of the series, Wylah, is a Peek Whurrong girl from the Maar Nation. She is a funny, smart and relatable young hero. Growing up in New Zealand, Richard was inspired by the strong Samoan culture, where women are as much warriors as men. He wanted to celebrate that strength, and together with Jordan’s cultural knowledge, Wylah was born.
Fast-paced action, compelling characters and fabulous illustrations on every page make Wylah: The Koorie Warrior one of our most anticipated books! It’s out on 31 May 2022. We can’t wait!
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