Trailblazers
Gef’s 30 Under 30 2024 Winners: Q&A with Luke Wilson
Ten categories. Thirty young visionaries making their mark on the Isle of Man. Introducing the 2024 #Gef30Under30 winners: the next generation of our island’s leaders.
The Love Tech Trailbazers category winners are one of a kind. They glanced at the beaten path and chose to go their own way.
What is your name and age?
Luke Wilson (although I write under the pen name Luke Quane), age 27.
Job title or role in the community?
Author.
How did you start your career or role in the community?
When I was six years old, I told my parents, teachers, and friends I wanted to be an author. 20 years went by, and I realised the main reason I wasn’t an author was because I hadn’t written a book. So, I sat down and wrote one. As my first book was being published, I realised that I wanted to inspire children and nurture their love of reading.
In one sentence, summarise your journey so far as a young and successful person under 30.
Incredibly fulfilling and full of ‘pinch me’ moments.
Tell us about your business/industry, is there something interesting about it that most people wouldn’t expect?
Reading is the best thing you can do to become a writer. If you want to get big muscles, you lift weights. If you want to be a good writer, you read books.
Everyone has a book in them. It doesn’t matter if you can’t spell or you think your ideas are bad. If you’re passionate about anything, you can write about it.
Have you experienced any hurdles in your career or community efforts and if so, how did you overcome them?
I am dyslexic and with that came the obvious difficulties when I embarked on pursuing my dream job of becoming an author. But even with two published books and multiple successful book tours of the island’s primary schools, the biggest hurdle anyone faces as an author is self-doubt. ‘Is my work really good enough?’ is never far from my mind, and overcoming that is a constant battle. But you have to remind yourself of the times children have recognised you when you’re picking up ice-cream in the shop, when you’ve been invited on radio shows, for book signings, and seeing your books on the shelves of Waterstones. You’ve got to focus on the hard evidence that what you’re doing is good enough.
Tell us about why you think you won the category you did?
Aside from the books I have published (under my pseudonym Luke Quane), I have also been determined to inspire the next generation. The workshops I run in local primary schools are incredibly well received by the children and staff. The level of enthusiasm the children have is impossible to deny, and the inspiration they show by designing their own books with me is more rewarding than anything else I’ve ever done. It’s been particularly fulfilling to hear from the staff about the times I’ve got through to the children who don’t usually engage in school activities, and to hear that the children are still inspired and carrying on with their own stories months after I’ve been. One teacher had to keep it a secret that I was coming back to do more workshops because the students had such a great time the first time, that she knew they wouldn’t concentrate if they knew I was coming back! I especially hope to show the students that are dyslexic like me, or face other hurdles, that it shouldn’t hold them back. I want to show them that someone just like them, who grew up on their island, can achieve their dream job with determination and passion.
Who are your role models, either on-island or off, in your sector or outside of it?
I could spend all day listing my role model authors, but instead I will say the teachers I have had throughout my education on island. I’d love to name them, but I fear I’d forget some important ones. Instead, I’ll just say that if you were a teacher who gave up their lunchtime to give me extra lessons, who spent their weekend marking my homework or patiently wading through all my spelling mistakes to mark some work, then you are my role models.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
“You can’t spell, so if you’re going to write, write fantasy because that’s where spelling doesn’t matter.”
What do you wish you knew when you were getting started in your career?
To write with your own voice rather than trying to match someone else’s. I wrote my first story as if I was trying to be Terry Pratchett, and it just wasn’t me, which is probably why it never got published. When I sat down and wrote from me, I found my voice and everything just fell into place.
What are your plans for the future?
I want to finish the series of books I’ve started. There are 2 out now (Albin and the Guardians and Albin and the New Order) and there’s at least going to be 4, so I better get cracking. I also love running workshops in the schools, so I hope to expand this with more school visits. As I have said before, the enthusiasm that comes off the children is clear and infectious. I hope to keep inspiring as many children as possible with the love of books.
What changes do you hope to see in your sector or community in the coming years?
I hope that budding authors realise that it isn’t the unachievable dream people think it is. You’ve just got to believe in yourself enough to sit down and start.
What, for you, are the benefits of staying on or moving back to the island for young people under 30?
‘It’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know’ is career advice I was given throughout school, and it isn’t something I think I understood until I was able to compare the Isle of Man to other countries by living abroad. For me, career progression is more facilitated here. If you want your big shot at impressing the boss, they’re probably in the pub and will welcome having a drink with you. Abroad, that just isn’t an option. The bosses and people to impress are hidden in locked offices and hardly talk to their employees.
What does being a Gef’s 30 Under 30 winner mean to you?
An incredible amount. In achieving any big life goal there is always doubt that you just got lucky or don’t deserve it. With this recognition, I feel honoured and more confident in my achievements. I’d like to say thank you to anyone who has read one of the earlier drafts of my writing. I can’t express enough that without your help, I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am.
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