Yvette Holt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yvette Holt
Born	31 January, 1971 Brisbane, Queensland Australia
Pen name	Yvette Henry Holt
Occupation	Executive Chairperson First Nations Australia Writers Network, Poet, Editor, National Director of First Nations Australian Cultural Protocols — AP Australian Poetry
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of Technology Sydney
Years active	2005–present
Children	1
Relatives	Albert Holt (father) Lillian Holt (cousin)

Yvette Henry Holt is an Australian writer, poet, and editor. She has won many awards for her work. Yvette is an Aboriginal woman from the Bidjara, Yiman, and Wakaman nations in Queensland. She is the youngest child of Albert Holt, a respected Elder, and Marlene Holt.

Yvette became well-known for her poetry in 2008. This was when her first book of poems, Anonymous Premonition, won an award. From 2009 to 2021, Yvette lived and worked in Central Australia. She worked with the Central and Western Arrernte peoples near Hermansburg and Alice Springs.

Early Life and School

Yvette Holt was born in 1971 in Brisbane, Australia. Her family lived in Inala East from 1968. They helped the community in many ways. This included working in education, the police service, and social justice. They also helped with the Stolen Wages Class-Action and the Brisbane Murri Court.

Yvette went to Serviceton Primary State School, which is now Durack State School. She was very good at singing, playing softball, and writing. Later, in 2007, Yvette earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She studied Adult Education and Community Management at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Yvette's Poetry Work

In 2005, Yvette Holt won the David Unaipon Award for her poems. This award is for new Indigenous Australian writers. Her winning collection of poems, Anonymous Premonition, was published in 2008.

Since then, her poems have appeared in many journals and books. They have also been published online. Yvette's poetry has been translated into several languages. These include Mandarin, French, Spanish, Indonesian, Italian, and Dutch.

Other Important Work

From 2006 to 2009, Yvette Holt researched Indigenous Australian literature. This was for a project called Black Words, which is part of AustLit. AustLit is a big online resource for Australian literature.

Yvette is very interested in fairness for Indigenous people. She especially focuses on First Nations women and their experiences. She often speaks about Black literature and women of color in writing. She also talks about publishing and creative writing by Indigenous First Nations people. Yvette continues to guide young people and women in creative writing. She also teaches them about Indigenous Australian literature.

In 2009, Yvette moved to Central Australia. For nine years, she worked in eighteen remote Aboriginal communities. She helped with health and money education. She also worked on finding jobs for Indigenous people. Yvette also taught creative writing at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education in Alice Springs.

Current Leadership Roles

Yvette Holt has held important leadership roles since 2018. She is the Executive Chairperson for the First Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN). This group supports First Nations writers in Australia.

Since 2019, she has also been a Board Director for Australian Poetry (AP). This is a main organization for poetry in Australia and New Zealand. Yvette is also the National Director for Literary Cultural Protocol & Ethics for AP. She works at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne.

Yvette helps to manage publications by First Nations Australian writers, poets, and storytellers. She also helps connect the First Nations Australia Writers Network with other groups around the world.

She has also worked as an editor. She helped edit the 2019 AP Anthology Volume 7. She also co-edited Borderless: A transnational anthology of feminist poetry in 2021.

In recent years, Yvette Henry Holt has strongly supported the idea of a national Poet Laureate for Australia. This would be a special poet who represents the country.

Awards and Achievements

Yvette Holt has received many awards for her work:

• 2003: She won the UTS Human Rights Award. This was for her great work in helping to achieve fairness for Indigenous Australians.
• 2005: She received the David Unaipon Award for her unpublished book, Anonymous Premonition.
• After Anonymous Premonition was published, it won more awards:
  • 2008: The Scanlon Prize for Indigenous Poetry
  • 2008: The Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing
  • 2010: The Kate Challis RAKA Award
• 2018: Her poem "Mother(s) Native Tongue" was highly praised in the Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Poetry Prize.
• 2019: She received a Varuna Fellowship for her poetry book, "Hands of My Mother".
• 2019: She also received the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund.
• 2019: Yvette was one of three people to receive a Norma Redpath Studio residency. This was part of the Hot Desk Fellowships given by the Wheeler Centre.