Gary Lonesborough - The Boy from the Mish

A funny and heart-warming queer Indigenous YA novel, set in a rural Australian community, about seventeen-year-old Jackson finding the courage to explore who he is, even if it scares him. Compelling, honest and beautifully written, The Boy from the Mish is about first love, identity, and the superpower of self-belief.

Gary will be appearing in conversation with Will Kostakis.

This event will take place on Zoom. The Zoom meeting details form part of your ticket, emailed to you after registration. 

About the Book

It's a hot summer, and life's going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It's almost Christmas, school's out, and he's hanging with his mates, teasing the visiting tourists, avoiding the racist boys in town. Just like every year, Jackson's Aunty and annoying little cousins visit from the city - but this time a mysterious boy with a troubled past comes with them… As their friendship evolves, Jackson must confront the changing shapes of his relationships with his friends, family and community. And he must face his darkest secret - a secret he thought he'd locked away for good.  

'The Boy from the Mish is an extraordinary debut novel, and I loved this tender, beautiful story with all my heart. Jackson and Tomas stole my heart, and I'll be thinking about them for a long time.' NINA KENWOOD 

'A lightning bolt to the soul. The Boy from the Mish announces a bold, necessary new talent.' WILL KOSTAKIS

'How I wish I had this big-hearted book when I was a teenager. It would've changed my life. Let it change yours.' 

                                                                                                                                                    BENJAMIN LAW 

'It is, honestly, a book I've been searching for over my whole career as an editor, as well as all my years as a (queer) reader. I'm not ashamed to say that it made me cry (repeatedly) and awed me with the power of its storytelling.' 

                                                                                                            DAVID LEVITHAN, Scholastic US Editorial Director 

'Honest. Funny. Beautiful. This book is all the things.' GABBIE STROUD

About the Author

Gary Lonesborough is a Yuin man from Bega, NSW. He was always writing as a child, and continued his creative journey when he moved to Sydney to study at film school. This led to Gary working on the feature film adaptation of Jasper Jones.

As a role model for Aboriginal youth and an emerging talent in the creative arts, Gary was awarded Bega Valley Shire Council’s Young Citizen of the Year Award. In his final year of high school, he won the Patrick White Young Indigenous Writers’ Award, and he has since received a Copyright Agency First Nations Fellowship. Gary writes late at night, into the early hours of the morning. ‘I like to think it is part of my DNA as an Aboriginal person – to tell stories,’ he says, ‘because Aboriginal people have been telling stories for thousands of years.’ The Boy from the Mish is Gary’s debut YA novel.

About the Moderator

Will Kostakis is a writer of all things, from celebrity news stories that score cease and desist letters, to tweets for professional wrestlers. That said, he’s best known for his award-winning YA novels. His first novel, Loathing Lola, was released when he was just nineteen. His second, The First Third, won the 2014 Gold Inky Award. It was also shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year and Australian Prime Minister’s Literary awards, among others. The Sidekicks was his third novel for young adults, and his American debut. It went on to win the IBBY Australia Ena Noel Award. Most recently, Will has applied his trademark style to the fantasy genre, with Monuments and its sequel, Rebel Gods.