Manhattan Dreaming

Heiss captures all the wide-eyed excitement of Manhattan: the sights; the shopping; the history; and of course the men. Like the author, Lauren is a member of the Wiradyuri nation. Her deep connection to her people and culture is a vital part of the story, and what sets Manhattan Dreaming apart from other chick-lit? It’s a contemporary romance with spunk, and I enjoyed it a lot. – Australian Bookseller and Publisher‘There is political content and a subtle weaving of information about Aboriginal culture while on the surface there’s the romance and situational comedy that attracts many reader.’ * Brisbane News *‘With the classic romantic ending up the Empire State Building (you just knew it was coming), this may well get you appreciating Aboriginal art and dreaming of a life in the Big Apple.‘  * The West Australian *

Dr Anita Heiss is an internationally published, award-winning author of over 20 books; non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction and children’s novels. She is a proud member of the Wiradyuri Nation of central New South Wales, an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the GO Foundation, and Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland. Anita is also the Publisher at Large of Bundyi, an imprint of Simon & Schuster cultivating First Nations talent. As an artist in residence at La Boite Theatre, she adapted her novel Tiddas for the stage. It premiered at the 2022 Brisbane Festival and was produced by Belvoir St for the Sydney Festival in 2024. Her novel, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, about the Great Flood of Gundagai, won the 2022 NSW Premier’s Indigenous Writers’ Prize and was shortlisted for the 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize and the 2022 ABIA Awards. Anita’s first children’s picture book is Bidhi Galing (Big Rain), also about the Great Flood of Gundagai. Anita released Dirrayawadha (Rise Up) in about the frontier war in Bathurst in 2024. Her most recent novel is Red Dust Running.