Lenora Thaker is a Meriam and Wagedagam woman from Gimuy (Cairns). She is published in anthologies: On Butterfly Wings, 2023, and Growing up Torres Strait Islander, 2024. She won the Writing NSW Boundless Mentorship in 2021 for her manuscript about a family of Torres Strait Islanders living through the Second World War years.
Her historical novel, The Pearl of Tagai Town, was published in 2025 by Text Publishing and won the 2026 Qld Premier’s Literary Award for a work of state significance.
Lenora is committed to the craft of storytelling, and shining a light on Torres Strait Islander stories, which remains a rarity in Australia’s literary landscape. Lenora writes short stories and long-form narratives that incorporate Torres Strait Islander languages, and explores universal themes of love, family, politics and the clash of internal and external cultures.
