2026 Blak & Bright Yarn Lab

Get ready for a day of inspiration, creativity and culture!

Dive into the vibrant world of First Nations storytelling at Yarn Lab, a free education event hosted by State Library Victoria, presented in partnership with Blak & Bright.

What’s in store?

• Hands-on workshops: Learn the craft of writing with award-winning authors Aunty Fay Muir, Claire G. Coleman and Lenora Thaker.
• Lively discussions: Hear how stories shape and celebrate First Nations culture. 
• Creative writing tour: Tour the Library’s spaces and practise your writing skills.

Who’s Invited?

• Secondary students in Years 10-12.
• Each school can bring up to 50 eager storytellers to soak up this incredible day of learning and fun. If you have any questions about capacity, please contact the Library Education team via email at education@slv.vic.gov.au

Don’t miss this chance to celebrate the art of storytelling with some of the boldest voices in the Blak & Bright community.

Sign your school up now and let the stories come alive!

Can’t join us in person? Sign up to receive a free Creating Texts Masterclass from Wiradjuri writer, teacher and disability advocate James Parr. 

The lesson will be released Monday 31 August. You can deliver it to your class at a time that works for you.

You can then join James and Blak & Bright for an online Q&A on Thursday 10 September at 2pm.

Curriculum links

This program highlights the development of writing processes reflected in the Year 11 and 12 VCE English and EAL Crafting/Creating Texts Area of Study.

It is also suited to the Year 11 VCE Literature, Voices of Country Area of Study as students explore the voices, perspectives and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and creators.

Similarly, this program meets Victorian Curriculum 2.0 Year 10 English as students analyse representations of individuals, groups and places and evaluate how they reflect their context in literary texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, (VC2E10LE01).

About Aunty Fay Muir

Aunty Fay Muir is a senior Boon Wurrung and Wamba Wamba Elder, First Nations community leader and Koori Court Elder. She is a Language Specialist, working as a prison educator in First Nations languages and is a creative language revival consultant and collaborator.

Aunty Fay provides cultural guidance to students and teachers at all levels of the Victorian education system, providing cultural and curriculum advice. In 2020, she was inducted to both the Victorian Honour Roll of Women and the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll.

About Claire G. Coleman

Claire G. Coleman is a Noongar woman whose family have belonged to the south coast of Western Australia since before history started being recorded. Growing up near Boorloo, now living in the hills near Naarm she writes fiction, non-fiction, drama and verse. Her widely acclaimed work includes Terra Nullius (2017), The Old Lie (2019), Lies, Damned Lies (2021) and Enclave (2022).

About Lenora Thaker

Lenora Thaker is a proud Torres Strait Islander woman from Erub and Mabuiag, living on Yidinji country in far north Queensland. She is a descendant of the Torres Strait Islanders of Malaytown, a makeshift town on the Cairns swampland from the late 1800s to the early 1950s. They are the inspiration for the story The Pearl of Tagai Town, for which she won the Boundless Mentorship.