LISTENING BEFORE WRITING: MONTY DWYER ON FIRST NATION STORIES ACROSS THE NATION

BY TAHLIA ON
Tamworth Country Music Festival 2026

Australian writer Monty Dwyer has spent years travelling across the country with a simple approach: sit down, listen, and let people speak for themselves.

Speaking on Ngaarda Media during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, Dwyer said his work grew from time spent living in Darwin, where he began listening to Aboriginal people living in the city’s long grass.

He said the group is often misunderstood and too easily reduced to labels.

“They’re not one mob. They’re from everywhere,” he said. “People try to box them in, but they don’t fit neat descriptions.”

Writing shaped by listening

Dwyer said his book on the long grass came after years spent with people, not chasing headlines or focusing only on social problems.

He said he wanted to show daily life, humour, honesty and complexity — without avoiding hard truths.

His approach is straightforward:

Spend time with people
Listen more than you speak
Write what you are given
Accept that stories can be messy, funny and human

“You don’t always know if someone’s pulling your leg,” he said. “But that’s part of listening properly.”

From television to books

Dwyer said frustration with television led him to write books, where he could work at his own pace and tell longer stories.

His Red in the Centre series grew out of that shift.

The book's cover:

Remote and regional Australia
Life on the road
Darwin’s long grass communities
Caravan culture
A true crime case in North Queensland
A forthcoming book based on recent times in the United States

He said writing helps him understand things he doesn’t yet have a handle on.

“If I don’t get something, I write about it. That forces me to talk to people and learn.”

Community radio matters

Dwyer told Ngaarda Media community radio remains the backbone of Australian broadcasting.

He said it gives people their first chance to speak publicly and learn the craft.

Community radio, he said:

Tells local stories
Builds broadcasting skills
Gives people confidence
Feeds into wider media

“That’s where it starts,” he said.

Tamworth and the road ahead

Dwyer has attended the Tamworth Country Music Festival for more than a decade, selling books on the street and catching up with old friends.

He said this year carried a different tone following recent losses in the music and Territory community, including the death of Ted Egan, whom he described as a strong advocate for Aboriginal people.

Dwyer is now finishing edits on his next book and expects to return to Darwin next dry season.