Lenora Thaker is a proud Meriam and Wagedagam woman born and raised on Gimuy-Walubarra Yidinji and Yirraganydji country in far north Queensland. She is a descendant of the Torres Strait Islanders of Cairns Malaytown (a shantytown located on swampland from the late 1800s to the early 1950s), who are the inspiration for this story. Lenora Thaker received the Boundless Mentorship for The Pearl of Tagai Town.