Boori (Monty) Pryor

BIO

Boori Monty Pryor is a multi-award-winning children’s author, didjeridoo player, storyteller, dancer and renowned public speaker.

Boori was born in Townsville, North Queensland. His father was from the Birrigubba people of the Bowen region and his mother is from Yarrabah (near Cairns), a descendant of the Kungganji.

Boori played Basketball for the Queensland State Under 18’s team and went on to play in the Victorian State Championship League for five years. He also coached the first National Aboriginal Women’s Basketball team. Throughout the 1970’s he worked as a professional model and disc jockey at nightclubs around Australia. This time in Boori’s life is captured in the ABC series Wrong Kind of Black. He is an accomplished didjeridoo player who has performed solo with the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra. Since the early nineties he has performed internationally at Museums, Theatres and Festivals.

Boori has collaborated with Meme McDonald on five books: Maybe Tomorrow (1998), My Girragundji (1998), The Binna Binna Man (1999), Nunjul The Sun (2002) and Flytrap (2002).

Maybe Tomorrow received a Special Commendation at the 1998 Human Rights Awards and My Girragundji was awarded The Children’s Book Council of Australia 1999 Book of The Year Award.

In 2000 The Binna Binna Man received three of the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards: Book of the Year, the Ethel Turner Prize and the Ethnic Affairs Commission Award. In 2011 Shake a Leg, a picture book collaboration with Jan Ormerod, won the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards for Children’s fiction. In 2001, 2006, 2010 and 2013 a stage production of My Girragundji toured throughout most Australian states. In 2021, Story Doctors written by Boori and illustrated by Rita Sinclair was released.

Boori was the Children’s Laureate of Australia, sharing this title with Alison Lester in 2012 and 2013. In 2017 the short film Brown Paper Bag (starring Boori and inspired by his work) won the St Kilda Film Festival “Best Achievement in Indigenous Film Making” award. Wrong Kind of Black, a TV series based on his extraordinary life, was released in 2018 on the ABC and later on Netflix.

SHOWS

School Visits

  • Kinder
  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Festivals

THE PERFORMANCE (Primary up to Year 8)
In this performance award-winning author, musician, prolific storyteller, and now filmmaker, Boori Monty Pryor shares his unique perspective on the world. Combining humorous tales from his life experiences, Dreamtime stories, and instructive anecdotes, this presentation offers an insight into the multi-faceted reality of modern-day Indigenous culture. Boori punctuates his storytelling with the music, dances and language of his family and his home. By combining traditional elements of performance with his contemporary stories, Boori helps students better understand both the past and present culture of First Nations People. (Face painting is possible if time allows – school to provide materials) Preschool Performances also available.

HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMME (Years 9-12)
This programme is inspired by Boori’s personal journey from a young boy spending too much time in the Principals’ Office to a Prime Minister’s Literary Award Winner. Boori will demonstrate to students that we all have the ability to tell our stories, and by telling our own stories we can find a sense of belonging. Students are encouraged to ask questions about our history and to appreciate the beauty of words and the power of writing. The presentation includes stories from Boori’s childhood spent between Yarrabah and Palm Island, his time as a teenager in Townsville, and his experiences leading up to becoming a published author. This presentation blends fact, fiction and Dreamtime stories to inspire and encourage students to pursue their own writing.

PLEASE PROVIDE A MICROPHONE FOR ALL SCHOOL PERFORMANCES

ONE DAY IN RESIDENCE (maximum 100 students)
The in-residence program is intended to give small groups of students (maximum 60 per group) the opportunity to actively participate in dancing, singing and face painting. The program is tailored for different age groups and is designed to fit into school timetables. Boori will contact all schools prior to their booking to finalise the details and to timetable the sessions.

DOWNLOAD SHOW BROCHURE

BOOKING ENQUIRY

ENQUIRE ABOUT THIS PERFORMER