Interview questions for Sally Morgan proudly provided by 16 year old Inky Awards judge, Cassie.
What is your book about?
Sister Heart tells the story of a young girl named Annie, who is taken far away from her family and country and placed in an institution for Aboriginal children. But it is also the story of Janey, who becomes Annie’s best friend. And the story of Tim, Janey’s little brother. And the story all the other children living in the same place as Annie, who had been removed from their families and country. Sister Heart is a story of loss, grief and loneliness, but it is also a story about friendship, love and hope.
What made you decide to write Sister Heart in free verse?
This story came to me in a dream. When I woke up I was saying the words on the first page of Sister Heart. It was only when I wrote the words down that I realized what I was saying was more poetry than prose. That stumped me. I had never written anything poetic. I decided to read some poetry, to work out how to write a book like that. I read over a thousand poems in one weekend. Some of them were horribly long winded and obtuse, some were boring, some were so dense I didn’t understand them. But others were funny, uplifting, insightful and sparse. I found I liked sparse, so I decided that was how Sister Heart should be written.
What was the main message you wanted to get across to people reading Sister Heart?
My main hope was that young people who read Sister Heart would be able to relate to Annie, Janey and Tim and the other children who had been placed in the institution. That they would be able to cry and laugh with them and understand on a deeper level some of the terrible losses that children like Annie experienced in their young lives. I think the ability to feel compassion for other people, is a really important quality.
What book do you think has influenced your life?
The world is full of amazing books, but there is no single book that has been a major influence in my life. I think this is because I grew up in a family of story tellers, so listening to stories being told has been more of an influence on me than reading.  I have an ear for language. When I’m out and about, at the supermarket or anywhere, I’m always listening to hear funny things people say. Once I was at the deli, waiting to be served, when the elderly man next to me ordered a cooked chicken. The chicken that was packaged up wasn’t very big. ‘I ordered a chicken, love,’ he joked to the girl behind the counter ‘ not a pigeon!’
If you won the gold Inky Award you would…?
If I won the Gold Inky Award I would be super surprised because Australia is blessed with an abundance of brilliant writers for children and young people. I would also be incredibly honoured. I would continue to encourage children and young people to tell their own stories in their own way and to be proud of what they do.
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