Night Parrot Press Author 

Mabel Gibson is a Yamatji writer who grew up in Boorloo (Perth), Kinjarling (Albany), and Jambinu (Geraldton). Her work has been published in maar bidi: Next Generation Black Writing (Magabala Books), anthologies by Night Parrot Press, Portside Review and Pulch Magazine. She has sat on panels at various festivals including Emerging Writers Festival (Melbourne), Perth Writers Weekend, Ubud Writers Festival, Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival, Kimberley Writers Festival, Big Sky Festival, among others. Mabel hopes to one day become a publisher and provide opportunities for other First Nations writers. CryBaby (2025, Night Parrot Press) is Mabel's debut book.

 

I was born a human storm. Emotionally charged from my very first breath of warm September air. As I grew, so did a wild set of curls that I would try to kill in my teenage years like they were weeds — with a bottle of bleach and a bright pink hair straightener. I tried to tame my emotions like I tamed my hair, but it was never as easy. I did jazz and ballroom dancing, I played soccer and netball and basketball. I tried to learn piano, I surfed for a weekend, I drew badly all the time, I curated an angsty Tumblr page where I reposted outfits I liked and poems about suicide. I pretended to be a chef. 

 

(Excerpt from CryBaby by Mabel Gibson, published by Night Parrot Press 2025)