Year 7 author winner in world awards

NBCS student Gabriella Dias, 12, has been named the winner for the Girl of the Year category in the Women Changing the World Awards 2025. She also received an honourable mention in the category of Women in Literature – Children’s Books.

Gaby was nominated because she is the author and creator of the Light of Luna book series.

She began writing at the age of eight, after her Year 2 teacher encouraged the children in her class to write a story.

“Most of the kids started, but they never really finished,” says Gaby. “I kept going, and a year later I’d finished a book. It was my own little world that I could work on outside of everything else.”

When Gaby began at NBCS in Year 5, she found plenty of support for her writing. “It’s a school that encourages kids to follow what they want to do and try out their passions. That’s been a great help for me.”

Settling in to Year 7 has meant that Gaby hasn’t been writing as much this year, but she makes time to continue her stories on the weekends and she is often writing more than one story at a time. “I can keep all the stories separated in my mind,” she said.

Gaby’s books have sold across Australia and around the world, and her friends and family are also very supportive. “My friend Maggie always asks me when the next book is coming out. She’s going to get one of the first copies.”

Gaby’s future plans include writing but she would also like to be a part-time English teacher. Right now, she’s involved in the school production of Mary Poppins, she loves science, and she enjoys being social and hanging out with her friends.

Gaby’s published books are in the school library. Interested readers can visit gabydias.com.au for more information.

Gaby flew to London for the Awards night in April. Her winning award was presented by Sarah, Duchess of York, who also requested to meet Gaby before the awards presentation. While in London, Gaby was invited to present her books and give an author talk at the Junior School of Putney High School.

She said, “When I started writing, I was just having fun, but it’s nice to be recognised as someone who could change the world.”

The Women Changing the World Global Summit and Awards took place in London on Thursday 3 April 2025. To find out more, visit: https://wcwawards.com/finalists/