Honorary Doctor of Letters
Citation delivered by Professor Anthony McKnight at the University of Wollongong on the occasion of the admission of Tara June Winch as a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) on 16 July 2025
Deputy Chancellor, I present to you Tara June Winch.
Great literature not only tells stories but shapes our understanding, chronicles history, and builds bridges between cultures. Tara June Winch stands as one of Australia's most powerful literary voices, a local writer of Wiradjuri, Ngunawal and Gundungurra descent whose remarkable body of work is underpinned by a commitment to plumb the complexities of Australia’s history through fiction.
Growing up on Dharawal Country, Tara's early connection to culture and untold histories would become the foundation of her artistic expression. Driven to understand her identity within the complexities of a colonised country, Tara ventured into remote and regional Australia as a seventeen-year-old, writing letters and poetry along the way. It was during her return to ancestral Wiradjuri Country to gather fragments of her family and community's history that her first works of prose formed.
These early explorations resulted in the publication of Swallow the Air in 2006. Now twenty-two years old, the novel is a poignant story about a young woman's search for her ancestral family, exploring identity, displacement, and intergenerational trauma. Tara's talent was recognised with numerous accolades, including the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing, the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist Award, and the David Unaipon Award. Swallow the Air has been adopted into secondary and tertiary curricula since 2009, ensuring that this First Nation’s story reached countless students nationwide.
Tara continued to evolve as a writer, drawing inspiration from postcolonial and Indigenous writers globally, including being chosen as the 2008 International Rolex protégé, working under the tutelage of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. Tara's global journey led to her second work, After the Carnage, in 2016, a raw and poetic collection of short stories that explored grief, disconnection and transformation.
In 2019 Tara returned home with a deeply personal story in her novel The Yield. Weaving together her Wiradjuri ancestral stories and language, and the consequences of colonialism past and present, The Yield is a literary triumph that earned both the Prime Minister's Literary Award and the Miles Franklin Award. It resonated deeply with international audiences and has been translated into several languages, conveying the consequences of colonialism to readers around the world. She is a frequent arts reviewer and journalist for major publications, including her six-part series, Decolonising the Shelf, for Griffith Review on the centrality of First Nations languages.
Beyond the page, Tara has been a tireless advocate for language revitalisation and emerging voices. A former NSW representative on the Australia Council for the Arts Board, ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, and Children’s Ground, she has spoken internationally on the importance of literacy, literary expression and of language preservation and revitalisation. Through mentorship programs and advocacy campaigns, she has helped guide the next generation of writers and given young First Nations and minority voices wide-reaching platforms. From her base in France, she continues to promote Indigenous voices internationally, most recently through her curation of the 2024 First Nations Film Festival in Paris.
Through her literature, advocacy and mentorship, Tara has shown how storytelling can heal, empower and reckon. Her commitment to revitalising Indigenous culture through the written word and her support for emerging voices have helped preserve the language and stories of the Wiradjuri, while inspiring readers and First Nations writers globally to explore their own history for generations to come.
Deputy Chancellor, it is a privilege to present Tara June Winch for admission to the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.