On the fourth day of our fantastic Pop-Up blog takeover to celebrate the publication of 10 Stories to Make a Difference, a collection of stories marking the 10^th anniversary of Pop UpFestivals, it is a real pleasure to introduce readers to Eleanor Cullen.  Eleanor was one of four writers that won the Pop Up writing competition.  Her story A Match for a Mermaid is illustrated by the inimitable David Roberts.

When I began planning my first picture book, I knew I wanted it to have two things. The first was mermaids, since my niece loves them, and the second was LGBTQ representation, since I felt characters belonging to that community were missing from the picture books I had grown up with. It was combining those two elements - an appreciation of a mythical creature and a desire for more diverse picture books - that led to the creation of A Match for a Mermaid.

The story follows Princess Malu the Mermaid, who is about to become queen of the whole ocean, but who is a little scared of ruling entirely on her own. To ease her nervousness, she recruits her best friend Brooke to help her find a merman to be her king. Brooke obliges, willing to do anything to make Malu happy, but Malu can’t imagine herself marrying any of the potential suitors she meets. Some are too loud, others have hair she doesn’t like, and one is perfect in almost every conceivable way, yet she still finds fault with him! It’s only then that Brooke suggests Malu marry her instead, since she possesses none of the qualities Malu disliked in the rejected mermen. Malu loves that idea, and the story ends with the two mermaids being crowned queens together.

With this ending, I hoped to show that a same-sex union is just as valid and easy to accept as any other. Malu chooses to love Brooke because she has every quality she was looking for in a spouse, and that’s all there is to it. She never thinks that the fact they’re both females means their relationship can’t progress past friendship, because that thought never occurs to her. She just wants to marry someone she could love, and she knows that someone is Brooke and definitely none of the men she has met. I hope that children, and even adults, who read this ending can understand Malu’s thought process and realise that coming to terms with your sexuality doesn’t necessarily mean you have to struggle or agonise over your feelings; if it feels right, it probably is.

There are countless stories and books which end differently to mine, with a princess finding her prince, or vice versa, and most of them are amazing. Some of them are even my personal favourite tales. What I’ve noticed, however, is that there are far fewer stories about princesses finding princesses or princes marrying princes, and I can’t help but think that’s a shame. I know that, when I was growing up, I would have benefitted from reading about relationships which differed from the usual boy meets girl trope, even if it would have just made me realise sooner that same-sex relationships were as deserving of celebration as heterosexual ones. With that in mind, I can’t help but think that other children would benefit from the same thing: from reading about diverse characters and relationships just as easily as they could read about the same characters and relationships which most books represent. That is why I hope that my story, which celebrates two gay main characters and a same-sex wedding and royal coronation, is one that will help children appreciate the beauty of being different.

Being a debut author is incredibly exciting, and being a debut author with a book which celebrates diversity is something I am very grateful for. I’m especially thankful since David Roberts’ beautiful illustrations in A Match for a Mermaid give every character, no matter how small the part they play is, a personality and a unique look. I think he made the book into an even bigger, and greater, celebration of humanity than I could have imagined, and I know that many children will be able to look at his pictures and appreciate characters who may look like them (despite their tails or tentacles) or who they can admire for their own reasons. 

As well as David Roberts, I have Pop-Up Projects to thank for bringing my story and characters to life. Because of them, Malu and Brooke have the opportunity to teach children that loving someone is brave, especially when you love someone the world doesn’t expect you to love. They can also preach the fact that being open about who you love can change your life!

Pop-Up once described A Match for a Mermaid as a fairytale with a twist, and I have remembered that description with pride; as someone who has always loved fairy stories and classic romantic narratives, I am honoured to think that I created a story which is worthy of the fairytale label, especially since it revolves around two LGBTQ characters. With the confidence bestowed upon me from Pop-Up believing in me and my story, I hope to release more children’s books which celebrate diversity and differences whilst they inspire and entertain young readers.

A big thank you to Eleanor Cullen for the blog to Pop Up Festival for organising the innovative project and to Nicky Potter for the opportunity with the blog.