A regional Victorian children's book series featuring a First Nations heroine has not only defied mainstream publishing norms but conquered the school curriculum.
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When south-west Victorian authors Richard Pritchard and Jordan Gould created the Wylah series, they were warned that female protagonists rarely sell well.
As the fifth and final book, Heroes, hits shelves, the duo has shifted nearly 80,000 copies nationwide, cementing Aboriginal culture in the mainstream media landscape.
Pritchard said it was tempting to continue Wylah's story in another book.
"I think it finishes where it should," he said. "For me, the whole journey was to bring a fresh view on Aboriginal culture in Australia.
"You can see with the Moana films. There's so much Polynesian, Samoan culture in mainstream media.
"Now that Wylah's finished, it's fulfilled what I envisioned it to do, which was to change society and give kids another viewpoint as they grow up.
"It's done that on a massive scale in Australia."
Gould said the fact the books had been included in school curricula meant children were able to grow up with an Aboriginal story that other generations never had the chance to experience.
"It's amazing," he said.
For Gould, Wylah was more than just a book series.
"It's pretty much my whole Aboriginal identity," he said.
"Wylah is part of my tribe - Peek Whurrong tribe.
"To see my culture, language be embraced by so many people...it means a lot to me."
Pritchard said when he first came up with the idea for the book, there were those who questioned his choice of main character.
"Having a female character as the main character on the front cover in the day was a shock to a lot of people I found," he said.
"They were like 'why are you doing a female?' It was interesting to me because I was like: 'Why not? Is this a thing?
"Apparently most books that sell well are books with boys on the front cover."
Pritchard said it was also a big decision choosing whether to self-publish or to go with a publisher.
"We knew the goal was to get it out to as many people as possible. It wasn't to make money or to sell lots," he said.
"Making the decision to go with the publisher turned out to be the right one."
Sales through publisher Allen & Unwin are set to tick over nearly 80,000 copies with about 15,000 distributed into libraries. "That doesn't happen when you're independent," he said.
Book series comes full circle for authors
Gould said readers would be happy the final book completed the story, rather than ending on a cliffhanger like the four previous books.
"It feels good to give people that conclusive end that they've all been really wanting for Wylah's story," Gould said. "It feels like it has gone full circle."
Pritchard said the final book was mostly set in the dragon kingdom. Gould told readers to "expect a lot of action and a lot of twists and turns".
"All the things we've been talking about in the past four books are in this one - a reveal of the enemy and enemy territory," Pritchard said.
"It culminates in a huge battle like Lord of the Rings. It's kind of like Lord of the Rings meets Fury Road."
It's a comparison Pritchard can make with some authority, given he was part of the large computer graphics team that worked on Mad Max: Fury Road.
It is one of several major films he worked on, including Prometheus, The Great Gatsby, Pacific Rim Uprising, Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2.
"The way I've written Wylah is geared towards cinematic storytelling," Pritchard said.
Penning his own book was a long-held dream for Pritchard. The first of the five-book series was released in 2022 and the final book hit bookshelves on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
Gould said while the book series had come to a conclusion, for him it wasn't the end of what he calls the "Wylah-verse".
Pritchard is now working on some other new stories.
An official launch for the book will be held on Saturday, August 15, 2026 - back where it all started at One Day Studios in Warrnambool in south west Victoria - in conjunction with Collins Booksellers. The two-hour event will start at 10am and include workshops.
