Yvette Holt

Born 1971 in Brisbane, Yvette's family have lived in Inala East since 1968 where her family in particularly her father had contributed to Queensland education in primary, secondary and tertiary education, Queensland Police Service, Queensland Stolen Wages Class-Action, Brisbane Murri Court, Inala Elders, and the Southern Queensland Centre of Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care. Yvette attended Serviceton Primary State School, now known as Durack State School, where she excelled at writing, singing and softball.

Holt graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Adult Education and Community Management, at the University of Technology, Sydney UTS, Faculty of Business, 2007.

In 2008, Holt's first collection of poetry (for which she had won the David Unaipon Award in 2005), Anonymous Premonition, was published by the University of Queensland Press.[1] The award had granted A$15,000 and also guaranteed publication of her work through the University of Queensland Press.[2]

Her poems have since been published in dozens of journals, anthologies, short-story essays online and in traditional publications, as well Holt's poetry has been translated in multiple languages including Mandarin, French, Spanish, Indonesian, Italian and Dutch.[3]

She has undertaken research on Indigenous Australian literature, for the "Black Words" subset of AustLit, a resource for Australian literature published by the University of Queensland.[1]

Holt has a keen interest in Indigenous social justice issues, especially for women, and has spoken around Australia and abroad on family and domestic violence. She mentors youth and also runs community workshops on writing and Indigenous Australian literature.[1]

In 2009 she moved to Central Australia to live at Hermannsburg, Northern Territory, where she has been working as a teacher and researcher, working on the development of an employment strategy.[1]

In 2019, Holt received one of three Norma Redpath Studio residencies, one of three awarded as part of that year's Hot Desk Fellowships awarded by the Wheeler Centre.[1]

Holt is currently the Executive Chairperson for the First Nations Australia Writers Network FNAWN, 2018. She is also a Board Director of AP Australian Poetry, 2019 – current, the peak-industry body for Australasian poetry, located at The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne.

Holt oversees publications between First Nations Australian writers, poets, and storytellers including the FN COVID-19 Anthology 2023 in association with AP Australian Poetry.

Editor, Holt co-edited the 2019 AP Anthology Volume 7.

Co-editor for the Borderless: A transnational anthology of feminist poetry 2021, published by Recent Work Press.

In recent years Yvette Henry Holt has advocated strongly toward the push for a nationally recognised Poet Laureate to the Commonwealth of Australia.

• 2003: UTS Human Rights Award in the category of Reconciliation for "outstanding contribution towards the elevation of social justice for Indigenous Australians"[1]
• 2005: David Unaipon Award (in the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards) for an unpublished Indigenous Australian author, for Anonymous Premonition[1]
• Other prizes for Anonymous Premonition after publication:
  • 2008: Scanlon Prize for Indigenous Poetry
  • 2008: Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing
  • 2010: Kate Challis RAKA Award
• 2018: "Mother(s) Native Tongue", Highly Commended in the 2018 Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Poetry Prize[4]
• 2019: Recipient, Varuna Fellowship for her poetry manuscript "Hands of My Mother"[1]
• 2019: Recipient, Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund[1]

• "Yvette Holt". Global Perspectives on Indigenous Women's Poetry - Between the Lines. AIATSIS. 11 October 2010 – via Vimeo.
• "Friday poem: Yvette Holt". ABC Radio National. Introduced by Hamish McDonald. 13 November 2020. This poem - inspired by her travels through the Central Australian deserts - is called Brereton and Oxford.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)