A novel by the School of History's Dr Jeanine Leane has been shortlisted for the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize.

Purple Threads includes 11 stories about strong Aboriginal women living in a white community. The stories are based on Leane’s own experiences of growing up on a sheep farm near Gundagai in the 1960s and 70s.

Leane, a postdoctoral fellow at the ANU Australian Centre for Indigenous History within the School of History, says she is “ecstatic” that her writing has been recognised at an international level.

“It’s a big honour to get on a shortlist with three other Australians and 12 other authors from around the world,” she said.

“Purple Threads was influenced strongly by true events and my aunties’ storytelling. It’s about presenting different Aboriginal perspectives of Australian life. I hope that people will read the book and consider Australia from a more holistic perspective.”

Leane was also awarded the Arts Queensland David Unaipon Award for Unpublished Indigenous Writer for Purple Threads in 2010. As part of the Prize, the book was published by University of Queensland Press last year.

The winner of the Commonwealth Book Prize will be announced in June.