Dr. Anita Heiss | |
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 Heiss in 2017 | |
| Born | Anita Marianne Heiss 1968 (age 56–57) Sydney,New South Wales, Australia |
| Alma mater | University of New South Wales,Western Sydney University |
| Occupation(s) | Author, presenter, commentator |
| Years active | 2000–present |
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Anita Marianne HeissAM (born 1968) is anAboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist andsocial commentator.[1] She is an advocate forIndigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her membership of boards and committees.
Heiss was born inSydney in 1968, and is a member of theWiradjuri nation of centralNew South Wales. Her mother,Elsie Williams, was born atErambie Mission,Cowra in Wiradjuri country, while her father, Josef Heiss, was born in St Michael in the Lungau,Salzburg, Austria.[2][3]
Heiss was educated atSt Clare's College, Waverley, then at theUniversity of New South Wales, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989. After a cadetship at theAustralian International Development Assistance Bureau (later AusAID) inCanberra, she returned to UNSW to complete anhonours degree in History in 1991.[3] She gained herPhD inCommunication and Media at theUniversity of Western Sydney in 2000, becoming the first Aboriginal student at the university to achieve this, which she considers her proudest achievement.[4] While working on her doctorate, Heiss ran writing workshops in regional New South Wales, and also travelled to Canada and New Zealand to do research there, giving several guest lectures while abroad.[3]
Heiss is known as an author, poet, cultural activist andsocial commentator.[5] Her work spansnon-fiction,historical fiction,commercial women's fiction, poetry, social commentary and travel articles.[6]
After attaining her doctorate, Heiss taught an Introduction to Indigenous Australia course at the University of Western Sydney, but became disillusioned with academia and resigned her position after a year or two, although retaining her unpaid role as an adjunct associate professor at the Badanami Centre for Indigenous Education at the university,[3] a position she continued until at least 2011.[5]
Heiss was a consultant researcher and writer for theBarani Aboriginal history website, first published by theCity of Sydney in 2001.[7]
In 2004 she waswriter in residence atMacquarie University,[8] Sydney, a part-time position, at the same time working from home on her writing.[3]
She was Deputy-Director at Warawara Department of Indigenous Studies atMacquarie University from 2005 to 2006.[8]
She was Adjunct Professor at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning (nowJumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research[9]) at theUniversity of Technology, Sydney,[10] from 2012 to at least 2014.[11]
Appointed in 2021, Heiss is Professor of Communications at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit,University of Queensland.[12]
In 1993, Heiss, along with writersJared Thomas andKerry Reed-Gilbert (the latter also a good friend[3]), participated in a writers' workshop at which they discussed the germ of an idea which would become theFirst Nations Australia Writers Network.[13]
From 1998 until 2004, and again from 2007, she was on the management committee of theAustralian Society of Authors (ASA).[8]
From 2001 until 2003 she was Communications Adviser for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board of theAustralia Council for the Arts.[8]
Heiss was chair ofGadigal/Koori Radio until September 2008.[3]
She was a witness inEatock v Bolt, a 2011 decision of theFederal Court of Australia which held that two articles written by columnist and commentatorAndrew Bolt and published inThe Herald Sun newspaper had contravenedsection 18C, of theRacial Discrimination Act 1975. Bolt had accused Heiss and other Aboriginal people of "choosing" their identity for personal benefit.[3][14]
In 2011 Heiss was a board member for the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy, and an ambassador forIndigenous Literacy Day and for the Books in Homes program.[5] She has been an advocate for theNational Centre of Indigenous Excellence,[15][2] a social enterprise in Sydney.[16] In 2015 Heiss became an ambassador for theWorawa Aboriginal College.[17][18]
Heiss was appointed to theState Library of Queensland board in 2017.[19] As of 2021[update] she is not on the board, but a member of the Indigenous Advisory Group, an independent advisory group to the Library Board.[20]
Heiss is Ambassador of theGO Foundation (founded byAdam Goodes,Michael O'Loughlin and James Gallichan);[21] and theSydney Swans Australian rules football club.[2]
She also runs her own communications business, Curringa Communications.[22]
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