Julie Janson’s career as a playwright began when she wrote and directed plays in remote Australian Northern Territory Aboriginal communities. She is now a novelist and award-winning poet. A Burruberongal woman of Darug Aboriginal Nation, she was corecipient of the 2016 Oodgeroo Noonuccal Poetry Prize and winner of the 2019 Judith Wright Poetry Prize.

How good it is to hear a Darug voice speaking of Darug history. — Kate Grenville, Award-Winning Author of The Secret River"Based on the life of her own great-great-grandmother, Janson’s fictional interpretation of this dark period in Australia’s history... exposes how horrific and harrowing Aboriginal lives were during this time of brutal conquest, attempted cultural obliteration, resistance, and survival." — Booklist“Benevolence is a searing, unforgettable work . . . this novel is of immense importance.” — Paperbark Words“The gut-truths presented in Benevolence are tied to a larger reckoning needed in Australian society—one that involves a centering of First Nation voices, a willingness to address not just a violent history, but a hostile and violent present.” — Mascara Literary Review“Janson’s writing is evocative. . . . The shame of colonization is amplified by the proud complexities of the narrative . . . Muraging’s—and Janson’s—refusal to perform the victim to voyeurs of trauma is an act of defiance.” — The Sunday Age“The text’s undulation evokes the ever-changing interactions between settlers and Aboriginal populations following settlement, giving voice to an oft-overlooked Aboriginal perspective.” — Australian Book Review

Julie Janson’s career as a playwright began when she wrote and directed plays in remote Australian Northern Territory Aboriginal communities. She is now a novelist and award-winning poet. A Burruberongal woman of Darug Aboriginal Nation, she was corecipient of the 2016 Oodgeroo Noonuccal Poetry Prize and winner of the 2019 Judith Wright Poetry Prize.

How good it is to hear a Darug voice speaking of Darug history. — Kate Grenville, Award-Winning Author of The Secret River"Based on the life of her own great-great-grandmother, Janson’s fictional interpretation of this dark period in Australia’s history... exposes how horrific and harrowing Aboriginal lives were during this time of brutal conquest, attempted cultural obliteration, resistance, and survival." — Booklist“Benevolence is a searing, unforgettable work . . . this novel is of immense importance.” — Paperbark Words“The gut-truths presented in Benevolence are tied to a larger reckoning needed in Australian society—one that involves a centering of First Nation voices, a willingness to address not just a violent history, but a hostile and violent present.” — Mascara Literary Review“Janson’s writing is evocative. . . . The shame of colonization is amplified by the proud complexities of the narrative . . . Muraging’s—and Janson’s—refusal to perform the victim to voyeurs of trauma is an act of defiance.” — The Sunday Age“The text’s undulation evokes the ever-changing interactions between settlers and Aboriginal populations following settlement, giving voice to an oft-overlooked Aboriginal perspective.” — Australian Book Review