Kirli Saunders

Kirli Saunders (OAM) is a proud Gunai Woman who rarely stays in her lane. She's an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, writer, singer-songwriter and consultant. Kirli creates to connect, to make change. In 2022, she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her contribution to the arts. Kirli has partnered with global organisations including Google, Fender, Sydney Opera House, Qantas, Spotify, Mecca and Aesop on visual art and writing projects.

Kirli's award-winning film collaboration with Grassland Films, Cry of the Glossy, has been screened around the world. Kirli created the drone installation, Buungbaa Ma Ndhu, presented by Fremantle Biennale and Ngununggula Gallery, and the voice-to-art work TRACES with Kamsani Bin Salleh in collaboration with Google, Magabala Books and Sydney Opera House.

Kirli’s books have been celebrated by multiple awards, such as the Prime Minister’s and the Queensland, Victorian, and Western Australian Premiers’ Literary awards, the Children’s Book Council Australia awards and the Australian Book Industry awards. Her titles include Afloat (Hardie Grant, 2024), The Land Recalls You (Scholastic, 2024), Returning (Magabala, 2023), Our Dreaming (Scholastic, 2022), Bindi (Magabala, 2020), Kindred (Magabala, 2019) and The Incredible Freedom Machines (Scholastic, 2018).

Kirli is currently writing her anticipated novel, Yaraman, taking her play Going Home through a second development and recording her first album with Mark Harding, in their indie folk band, Cooee.

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