Wrestle!

Join co-authors Maya Newell & Gus Skattebol-James for the launch of Wrestle!. David Marr will read from the book too! This event is co-hosted by Rainbow Families NSW.

About the Authors

From the team behind the award-winning documentary Gayby Baby.

Gus Skattebol-James had just turned 10 when he appeared in the award-winning Australian film Gayby Baby, a hugely popular documentary about growing up with same-sex parents. Despite controversy surrounding Gayby Baby’s release, with calls from some commentators leading to the PG Gayby Baby being banned in NSW schools, audiences across the country fell in love with Gus’s story and his undying passion for wrestling.

Now Gayby Baby director Maya Newell and producer Charlotte Mars have joined forces with Gus again, along with illustrator Tom Jellett, to create a very lovable picture book about going against the grain and following your passions – even when both of your mums disagree!

Praise

'Big hearted, bold and beautiful. For any parent who knows there is no "right way" to make a family, and for any kid who knows there is no "right way" to be yourself.' - Benjamin Law

About the Book

Wrestle! is inspired by the 2015 documentary Gayby Baby, which featured the stories of four incredible kids, each being raised in LGBTQIA+ families. One of those kids was Gus. He’s now 17. The book comes after a decade of fighting for same-sex marriage in Australia and the world. But the work of expanding the conversation around family, sexuality and gender is by no means over. As we move beyond the narrative of the same-sex marriage debate, it’s a time to tell even more complex stories about who we are and how we live. These stories are the connective thread between major legislative change and the everyday behaviors that make our society more accepting. They are a gateway to new ideas and new ways of seeing. To fighting less. To loving more.