Cath Leach's online workshops with McKyus Levi created 'The Monsters of McKyus'

The Monsters of McKyus was written and illustrated by 14 year old McKyus Levi who lives in the St Paul's community on Moa Island, 50 kilometres north of mainland Queensland.

McKyus has autism and has difficulty with communication, reading and writing. He is able to express his understanding and emotions through illustrations.

The former social pariah at school has become the spotlight after he became a published author.

In December, The Monsters of McKyus won the Individual Achievement Award from Autism Queensland.

However the story of how McKyus became an author started with a black square image posted on social media.

The repetitive black images posted on social media by the friends of Narooma-based Catfish Creative's Cath Leach filled her feed during the Black Live Matter movement of 2020. People all around the world posted blank black screens in solidarity with the movement, calling for greater racial equality and justice.

Her black-filled feed caused Ms Leach to wonder what she could do.

"What can we actually do with our skills that actually makes a little bit of a difference in a little bit of our lives?" she asked herself.

The graphic design and illustrator decided to offer six-month free mentorships to young Indigenous artists to learn visual graphic recording and illustration.

Her national callout was answered by eight people, including McKyus' disability specialist teacher Deb Calder, who recognised his talent for drawing.

Ms Leach and McKyus held their first online workshop in June 2020, and she was immediately struck by the talent he displayed in the monsters he loved drawing.

"For his age, he is really, really good at drawing," she said.

Ms Leach is a self-professed ocean nut, passionate about marine biology conservation. While she appreciated the skill of McKyus' monsters, she was able to detect the influence of natural history and the underwater world in his imagination. The two struck up a shared connection through their interest in the sea.

As the workshop progressed, Ms Leach was continually blown away by McKyus' creativity and the stories he would construct about the different monsters he was drawing.

"They were so good and so funny, so I started writing down his descriptions," she said.

"That's when they come to life and are hilarious."

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As she catalogued the different monster creations and stories, Ms Leach decided to construct them into a book as a keepsake for McKyus of the workshop experience.

In what she described as a "happy accident", the Indigenous Literacy Foundation found out about the book and approached Ms Leach to publish it.

She travelled to the Torres Strait in November to attend the book launch for The Monsters of McKyus.

After meeting online for workshops for 12 months, mentor finally met mentee face to face.

"He was a bit shy at the beginning," Ms Leach said. "But it was just beautiful. He started showing me his newer drawings.

"I still marvel at his imaginative combinations of creatures and the stories about each one. His deep interest in the natural world, wild imagination and ability to draw so effortlessly is the best combination of all."

She hasn't ruled out future mentorships, or continuing to help McKyus pursue his illustrating dream.

"I feel like there's another book," she said.

Monsters of McKyus is available through the Indigenous Literacy Foundation website: shop.ilf.org.au