Just a handful of years ago, a book about a queer Indigenous teenager was almost impossible to find on bookshelves in Australia. Gary Lonesborough remembers a time growing up when he couldn't identify himself in any of the books he was reading. The Yuin writer from Bega in NSW is now an accomplished young adult (YA) author with his third book on the way, however as a teenager he can vividly recall almost giving up on his love of books.
READ MORE: Four words Luritja woman Jess is sick of hearing every NAIDOC Week "Storytelling has always been a part of me, ever since I was a little kid," Lonesborough tells 9Honey. "It does feel like it was kind of a gift from my ancestors, that's how Aboriginal stories and culture was passed down: telling stories." When Lonesborough was grappling with his own sexuality aged 12, he says finding a book that featured someone like him would have been utterly life-changing.
It was a story he was "really wanting to read", but it didn't really exist. So, he stopped reading. Books play an important role in self-identity and representation.
If you see your own struggles mirrored in a fictional character, it can make you feel less alone in the world. READ MORE: All of the food the Australian Olympic team is taking to Paris "If I could have walked into my school library and saw a book like The Boy From Mish , I definitely feel like that would have made me feel less alone," he says. "It took me so long to come to that stage of acceptance and self-l.