Gumbaynggirr and Gunggandji author Lay Maloney will release their debut novel 'Weaving Us Together' on July 31 through Hachette.

Written during the 2022 lockdowns, the young adult novel follows Jean O'Ryan, a non-binary Aboriginal teenager navigating identity, trauma, friendship and belonging in a small town by the sea.

When Jean meets Seraphina Landry and her group of friends, a journey begins of healing and self-discovery grounded in love, grief and the search for community.

Maloney, who is genderfluid, said the book was born out of a desire to see stories that reflected their own experience.

"In 2021 it was the lockdowns down in Naarm and I was down at my cousin's," they said.

"I reread the 'Aristotle and Dante' books and thought, 'Oh man, it'd be great if I had a book like this growing up.'

"It was so full of love for the characters but also place. I was like, I need to write my own book."

They wrote the first draft in four weeks and later received the 2022 black&write! Writing Fellowship to support its development.

Drawing from their life on the New South Wales coast, Maloney said the book is grounded in personal experience and the relationships which shaped them.

"I grew up here since I was six. I was mainly around a couple of groups of Black girls but we kept to ourselves because we were really isolated," they said.

"The characters are inspired by things I went through and also the girls I grew up with.

"There's a lot of love for them that comes through it."

Maloney said they wanted to write an honest story which didn't only focus on hardship, but didn't avoid it either.

"I didn't want it to be just about trauma or bad things, but I didn't want to sugarcoat anything either," they said.

As a genderfluid Aboriginal person, writing a story from that perspective also came with moments of doubt.

"Being gender diverse and Indigenous, I think the perspective I have is going to differ a lot from other people," they said.

"I did question the significance of stuff, but at the end of the day I though 'I am part of culture and I'm part of Country and I need to tell this story, not just for myself but for any young person out there.'"

Maloney said the book explores identity beyond binaries.

"It's very affirming as a non-binary person with a non-binary main character, but it also touches on gender roles throughout the story," they said.

"What it means to be a man, what it means to be a woman, all these things get brought into question.

"It was really wholesome in a way. I did question myself a lot but at the end of the day the story turned out to be right."

'Weaving Us Together' is the first Australian YA novel by a non-binary Aboriginal author.

Maloney is currently based on Dunghutti Country and works as the Literary Development Coordinator at blak&write! and co-produces the National Young Writers Festival.