Alexis Wright’s Tracker is a creative oral history that pieces together the life of an Aboriginal human rights champion, Tracker Tilmouth.

Longlisted for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, judge Dr Elizabeth-Jane Burnett says: ‘Alexis Wright explores new ways to write biography, challenging the expectations of the form whilst giving a unique glimpse into the life of someone from the stolen generation.’

To find out more about the book we spoke to Alexis about her writing, research and current reads.

How would you describe your book to a new reader?

Tracker is a bold and different kind of biography. I have called it a collective memoir rather than a conventional biography. The book is about the life and times of the visionary leader Tracker Tilmouth. He was an Eastern Arrernte Aboriginal man from Central Australia. The book combines his narrative with stories told by many people who knew him. Tracker was a larger-than-life character and he needed a larger-than-life book to capture who he was, and the importance of his achievements. Tracker was many things – an economist, environmental scientist, political leader, negotiator, and one of the finest Aboriginal political leaders and statesman of his era.

Did you have any revelation moments when writing your book? When the narrative and your objectives all fell into place?

My most revealing moment came at an early stage when I realised that I could not do Tracker justice with a conventional biography that was written from my perspective. I needed many voices to tell the story. After coming to this realisation, the structure became clear and fell into place. To do this, I had to break new ground for myself as a writer as well as embarking on an exhaustive and complex process of collating a large volume of material from many contributors. I did not know if it was going to work with such an ambitious undertaking. The response to the book however, has been greatly heartening.

What is the one thing you’d like a reader to take away from reading your book?

I would like the reader to appreciate the complexity of Tracker, his humour and wit, but most of all, to admire his refusal to be a victim and his determination to rise above the challenges he faced not only for himself but also all of his people in Aboriginal Australia.

How did you go about researching your book? What resources did you find the most helpful?

Tracker involved extensive historical and political research and collating contributions from many who knew him. It also drew on my own experience of working on Aboriginal issues in Central Australia which included the organisation of the Aboriginal participation and content of major Aboriginal Constitutional Conventions in the Northern Territory.

Which female non-fiction author would you say has impacted your work the most?

When working on Tracker, I was not aware of another non-fiction author who was working in the same space as me in creating an innovative form of biography. I had to develop the scope and nature of this work myself. My guiding principle came from Aboriginal custom and practice of letting all our community members have a voice on important issues. Tracker himself, thought that everyone should have a say about his work and achievements. He wanted to include all perspectives on his life and work.

What is the best piece of writing advice you have ever received?

You need to keep moving forward, don’t get bogged down, and ride the bumps. The best writing news I have received was when my publisher said, ‘I will publish your book’.

Is there a non-fiction book you recommend all the time? If so, what is it and why do you recommend it?

When researching my work, I read widely, particularly works about natural history and the environment to ensure that I embrace the diversity of life and connectedness of all things. The research for my recent novel Praiseworthy, involved studying climate, geography, the sky, butterflies, moths, beetles, and of course, donkeys.

What are you currently reading?

I am undertaking extensive research for my new works, this includes reading works of literature and non-fiction, as well as reading the land where I live, and beyond.