Pryor, Boori Monty (1950-…), is an Australian Aboriginal author, storyteller, and musician. Pryor has spent much of his career sharing the history and values of Aboriginal culture with people outside the Aboriginal community. Today’s Aboriginal people of Australia are the modern descendants of the first people to live in Australia. In 2012, Pryor was appointed the first Australian Children’s Laureate, a position he shared with Alison Lester. The Australian Children’s Laureate is an Australian children’s author or illustrator appointed to promote the power of reading to children. The laureate serves a two-year term.
Pryor’s first book was the autobiography Maybe Tomorrow (1998), written with the Australian writer and photographer Meme McDonald. Pryor has also written novels for young adults with McDonald, including My Girragundji (1998), The Binna Binna Man (1999), and Njunjul the Sun and Flytrap (both 2002). His stories explore characters seeking inner strength to meet life’s challenges. He attempts to create positive visions of the future for all Australians. Pryor’s picture book Shake a Leg (2010), illustrated by the Australian artist Jan Ormerod, won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Fiction in 2011. He has also published poetry.
Pryor was born in Townsville, North Queensland, on July 12, 1950. He attended Pimlico State High School in Townsville from 1962 to 1968, where he excelled in sports. In addition to his literary career, Pryor has been involved in motion pictures, television, education, and sports. He is a popular public speaker and dancer and a talented performer on the Aboriginal wind instrument called the didgeridoo.
