Writing ngurrak barring is a collection of works that responds to goranwarrabil (the Dandenong Ranges). Each one reminds us that places are formed as much from stories – written, told, coded, and sung – as from rock, soil, and plants. For millennia, goranwarrabil has been storied by the Traditional Owners and Custodians, the Wurundjeri people. Writing ngurrak barring brings together works by Wurundjeri and other First Nations artists, as a testament to their ongoing connection to Country. It also includes works by non-Indigenous writers with a connection to this place, to speak to the presence of newer stories that have coexisted or been contested here since colonisation.

Writing ngurrak barring is curated by Lia Hills, an award-winning poet, novelist and translator, whose work has been published, translated and performed around the world. Major works include her poetry collection, the possibility of flight, and her novels, The Crying Place and The Desert Knows Her Name. Lia was co-editor of Balit Bagurrk: Strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women of the Yarra Ranges. She lives and works on Wurundjeri Country.