Local Author Wins Nautilus Book Prize for Moojag - Review

Local British-Cypriot author N.E. Mcmorran has won the Nautilus Book Award for her book Moojag and the Auticode Secret.

I’ve read or watched several works that gave me insights into the relationship between so-called normal people and autistics. I say ‘so-called’ normal people because most psychologists and psychiatrists agree that there is no such thing as normal. Instead, we could talk about neurodivergent people and neurotypical people. Neurodivergent conditions include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or dyslexia. People with those conditions have a different developmental journey than neurotypical people.

Unlike the works I’ve experienced so far, N.E. Mcmorran’s Moojag fully immerses us in the autistic mind, which is in its own time, its own space and is highly imaginative and creative.

Own time, own space

What do autistic people think about and how do they feel? If you’ve ever wondered about this as a neurotypical, you have to read Moojag, whose author is proudly autistic and expressive. The book was written for middle school students but everyone can enjoy it for its unique perspective and lively story.

N.E. Mcmorran writes about a Dadaist world of lizard-skinned heroines, sugar-cane robots and Conqips who plot to take over a new world created by neurodivergents. The Conqips represent the selfish, exploitative side of humanity and kidnap autistic children in order to save themselves from catastrophe. The story takes place after The Surge, a cataclysmic event in 2044 and in order to adapt, the characters wear PIE - the technologically-advanced skin they created to shield them from the elements.

The narrator’s point of view alternates mainly between Nema and a ghost narrator who watches over Izzy, Adam and Nema as they go on adventures in the Surrey Isles and Gajoomdom.

Flying Pofs and candy that goes gajoom

The author brings us into a mindset in which sensations and emotions are magnified and all-absorbing. Where English rock candy looms over the hero and flying Pofs win art contests. Threads of Beatles songs run through the narrative, acting as guides and philosophies. In the Aut world, gajooming is a sound effect, a place, a verb and an anagram.

“In the Auticode Secret, Moojag discovers his true identity. It’s a story reflecting the real journey of autistics who have grown up acutely aware of being different, but never understanding why, and who have commonly ended up misdiagnosed,” says N.E. Mcmorran, who was diagnosed autistic late in life.

Moojag is a quirky, sensitive character who is a collage of herself and a few other autistics who are close to the author, she adds. He can feel and solve problems because he is an Aut. The ability to merge with the emotional characteristics of other people is an inseparable part of the deep empathy that autistics feel.

Although much of the tone of the book is fun and adventurous, there are underlying insights into the challenges of autism. Moojag flits in and out of the narrative, he is elusive and there is a reason for this.

“Moojag’s elusiveness is significant because autistics typically have trouble recognising social cues and often seem to appear out of nowhere or parachute - disappear suddenly out of social situations.”

N.E. Mcmorran

Autistics also tend to burn out from social interaction and need time out. Moojag loves to help others and solve problems, which are common autistic traits, she adds.

“It was important for me to portray this in my characters as there is still the misconception that we lack empathy, when in fact we are often overwhelmed with empathy and from the ability to read others’ true emotions, which neurotypicals often try to hide or deny,” says N.E. Mcmorran.

Feelings and escaping the fear

The kidnapped autistic characters absorb everything they hear and see and process it in unique ways. They hear the bullying Conqips say they are lazy and good for nothing and have trouble accepting that they can be useful.

The Auts are excited when Charlie tell them there is a real world (RW) created by autistics. There, they are appreciated for being sensitive, intuitive and feeling what others feel even better than they do themselves. But after a lifetime of being underestimated, their self-esteem is too low to leave the dreary coding work the Conqips force them to do in the candy factory.

Advice to aspiring writers

Moojag is a breakthrough book, one that immerses the reader in a completely different human experience and does a good job of breaking up stereotypes.

It is valuable in that for the first time, neurodivergents and neurotypicals alike can read impressions of the autistic mind through a fictional story. It is also exciting because Moojag is published by Spondylux Press, which is run by autistic professionals and promotes books written by neurodivergent authors.

N.E. Mcmorran spent years developing and editing Moojag and has some advice for aspiring authors.

“It’s a business which involves a whole chain of professionals. Publishing a book is easy but writing well and selling your work means accepting a bunch of criticism and honing your work to perfection,” she says.

Your critics will provide your most valuable feedback, your fans will provide the impetus to keep going when you have doubts - of which there will be too many! Don’t give up, find your audience, but most of all, stay true to YOURSELF and your message.

N.E. Mcmorran

Moojag and the Auticode Secret is available on Amazon and at Moufflon Bookshop in Nicosia and KP Kyriakou Bookshops in Limassol.

Visit www.moojag.com for more information.