Stef Gemmill - Interview

A Reflection on A Home for Luna: Children’s Winner 2020

The idea for A Home for Luna had been swimming around in my head for some months. The urge to write a story that created empathy for the refugee crisis had become urgent. At that time in 2018, the Syrian war had displaced over 5 million people. The Rohingya genocide in Myanmar was escalating. Many stories of migrants and refugees dying during their flight to freedom were in the news.

I was shocked by the risk and peril refugees were exposed to. But also relieved when the news printed stories of refugees relocating to new countries with hope of a new life ahead of them. But then I wondered what it would feel like to arrive in a new country with nothing – one where you are surrounded by different languages, food, sounds, sights, smells. Naturally, as I writer for children, I then wondered what that experience would be like for a child attending school in a new country. How could a story help others understand their experience? How could it be expressed in such a way to create empathy, so that they make new friends quickly? This is what I wanted to capture in a picture book for children. Luckily for me, New Frontier Publishing shared my vision. A Home for Luna was published in 2019.

A Home for Luna had to be a picture book.

When you pair text with illustrations, it encourages the reader (or listener) to take the perspective of the main character. To place themselves in their shoes. To create a real-world understanding of that character’s experience. Before children learn to even read, they can decode emotions through illustrations. Picture books act as a ‘window’ into the lives of people with different backgrounds, cultures or abilities. I also wanted a relatable character that every child would want to love and protect. I am a British Shorthair cat owner and so my own cat, Luna, became front and centre of this story.

After writing what went on to become A Home for Luna, I realised I’d written a slice of my own story. My family moved around a lot based on my dad’s job, so I lived in many different neighbourhoods. New countries, too. New schools. New friends. Many periods of no friends. There was also a time where I spent a month in a foster home when my mother had a mental illness episode. I grew up with a question mark next to my identity and my sense of belonging. In many ways, Luna’s story is also my story. The emotions I felt during times of instability are layered into the text. I also needed to consider the visual images that would emphasise emotion on the page, so I worked closely with the publisher on the fine details of the illustrations. Which is why Luna is a bedraggled castaway cat that arrives on an island populated by penguins. This immediately raises readers’ eyebrows. Are cats and penguins friends or enemies? Do they speak the same language? One swims. The other hates water. This is the beauty of the start of the story. Naturally, the reader focuses on the differences between cats and penguins. But once Tiny the penguin plays with Luna, the reader shifts their thinking to see their similarities. They’re both black and white. They both love fish. They both need friendship. Most importantly, the meaning of ‘family’ moves beyond flesh and blood.

When I read the email that a story so close to my heart had turned into a Rubery Book Award winner, I felt like I was floating on air.

I didn’t consider once that this book would win an international award. But it meant the world to me. Not for the prize money. Nor the shiny glass trophy. The prize was the judges’ comments that A Home for Luna was “…everything a picture should be…”. This award helped me (and the book) in more ways than I could’ve imagined. It provided approval from experts to readers that this book is worth their precious time to read it. It boosted support for my writing and publishing challenging themes. It validated that my writing voice, one that I have worked so hard to craft, is worthy of a prize. It helped place A Home for Luna on Refugee Theme book lists all over the world. Most importantly, it drove me to keep writing books on issues that matter. Since then, I’ve had several books published with tough themes - belonging, identity, disability, self-confidence and caring for the environment. All themes close to my heart. All stories that have a piece of ‘me’ in them. I am so excited to announce my next book is a children’s novel called The Ghost Horse of Snowy River (Wombat Books) and features a girl overcoming her fear of riding after a riding accident while trying to save the wild Australian brumbies. And yes, there is a piece of me in this story. Even more exciting is the children’s writer and illustrator festival I have created in Surf Coast, Vic, Australia, the Sketch and Scribe Festival. I feel it’s so important to support others to meet their creative goals.

I would encourage any author who has published a book that matters deeply to them to enter. The Rubery Book Award shines a light on non-commercial stories and just might help shine some light on you