Shannon Molloy Reflects On The Success Of ‘Fourteen’

In 2020 with the full force of the global pandemic taking place Australian author Shannon Molloy found himself launching his debut novel Fourteen in a situation that was far from what he expected.  

His memoir, Fourteen, tells the story of his life growing up gay in regional Queensland and the abuse he faced at the hands of his peers and teachers in an all-boys Catholic school.

Shannon sat down to talk with the Star Observer about the reactions to his story, the future of Fourteen and his second book, You Made Me This Way.

“This is it, it’s a failure”

Although Fourteen has quickly become a must read in many households Shannon was worried that it may never be seen by anyone.

“It was a surprise to me because it was released a week after the whole country went into lockdown. So, I had a three-week tour to do which was all suddenly cancelled. And for a debut release for a first-time author, that was quite terrifying, because all of a sudden, I had a book that no-one knew was coming out and I just kind of thought, you know, this is it, it’s a failure.” 

However, four years on and Fourteen is still gathering momentum. “It’s still selling. People are still reading it. They’re still sending me lovely notes about what it means to them. It’s been a wonderful, lovely surprise.” 

Fourteen is a story that is as hopeful as it is harrowing. Shannon recounts extremely painful and traumatic moments of his childhood as a young queer person in detail throughout the book.

His story is about recognising the future queer people have ahead of us and where we’ve come from. “I look at the world now and there’s a lot of reason to be really happy and proud and hopeful” he says.

“I think it’s important that none of us forget where we’ve come from. Particularly young people. The life that we’re able to enjoy now in many ways is on the backs of countless people who sacrificed a great deal, including their own personal happiness in their lives…“ 

“There were a few people that reached out and felt quite guilty”

While Fourteen has certainly been an exercise in reflection for Shannon, it has struck a chord with many people who were present during his childhood and witnessed what he went through.

“It was no surprise or secret what I was being subjected to in the way of bullying, it was out in the in the open. It was in broad daylight; a lot of people saw it” he recalls.

“There were a few people that reached out and felt quite guilty, that they didn’t step in and do anything at the time, I’m talking peers, you know? A couple of boys from the school even and and that was really touching.” 

Much of Fourteen is set in the all-boys Catholic school that Shannon attended in Yeppoon, with the current principal reaching out to the author after the release of the book.

“I suspect there might have been a sort of crisis meeting” he laughs.

However, the principal was keen to let Shannon know things had changed. “He was apologizing and sharing his horror at what he’d read and telling me about all the ways the school has changed, but also and most importantly, conceding that there was still some way to go.” 

Unbeknownst to the principal however, Shannon received news on just how seriously the school was taking issues of bullying these days.

With his sister living in Yeppoon his nephews now attend the very same school, reporting on just how different things are now.

“There was some incident, you know where someone had done something horrible to a kid and they called a special assembly. And spoke about the power of words and the importance of kindness.”

But more surprising to Shannon was the advice given to the current students. “He encouraged that the kids go and read my book and see what can happen when, when you’re horrible to someone.” 

 Is that teacher still teaching?

Of all the characters in Fourteen there is one that sticks in the memory of every reader. A callous and cruel teacher at the school who cruelly humiliated Shannon in front of his peers.

While Shannon cannot reveal the teacher in question, he’s done his research on what became of him.  

“He’s no longer at the school and hasn’t been for a while” he confirms.

However he did discover he is still teaching somewhere.

“As I was writing the book, I was just curious to see if he was still teaching and he is and there’s something quite disturbing about that for me personally.”  

However Shannon is optimistic that he may have changed. “I hope with the benefit of time and with the benefit of extraordinary change in society, that that he no longer resembles the teacher that he was two decades ago. I really hope so.” 

Fourteen continues to gain momentum

After the unexpected success of Fourteen the story continued to deliver another surprise for Shannon in 2022.

Announced as part of the Brisbane Festival lineup, Fourteen was selected by Queensland theatre company Shake & Stir to become a stage show, something Shannon could hardly believe.

“From that very first phone call through to watching it on stage for the very first time through to, talking about it endlessly and meeting so many people, none of it felt like it was real. It felt like I was living in a dream and sort of floating through the entire experience and every part of it was wonderful.”

As the production began to take shape Shannon found himself more involved than he expected.

“I just assumed that that I would hand the book over and they would do what they wanted with it. But they were so gentle knowing that it was my story and very considerate about involving me and making sure I was happy with the direction they took it.”

The end result was more than he could have imagined “It was just really, really beautiful, and nostalgic and breathtaking to watch. It was fantastic” he gushed. Fourteen went on to debut a sellout run during its time at QPAC in Brisbane.  

Earlier this year it was announced that Fourteen will be touring Australia, including returning to Brisbane and the Gold Coast.  

You Made Me This Way

With a hugely successful debut novel and stage show behind him, Shannon released his second book in 2023.

While Fourteen was Shannon’s story, You Made Me This Way tells other people’s stories this time. 

The book explores the lifelong trauma endured by men who were sexually abused as boys.

“It looks at how these horrific events in childhood fundamentally reshape survivors. For the most part they tend to end up in very similar places later in life and and that’s very sad.”

“Often there’s very little support for them, it’s also not spoken about very much.”

Shannon hopes to give a voice to these men by telling their stories. “Many of these men suffer in silence and some never, ever say what happened to them and the social outcomes of this can be catastrophic.”

“So, this is ultimately a story about trauma and the particular experiences of men.”

You Made Me This Way is another personal story for Shannon, “There’s a little bit of me in this book as well and that’s something I haven’t spoken about publicly at all, about a particular incident from very early in my childhood that that sort of forms part of this story.”

“But ultimately, it’s the stories of several other men who were gracious enough to talk to me about what’s happened to them.”

You Made Me This Way is now available at all book retailers.  

Fourteen commences its national tour at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta (3 – 4 May), before playing in selected venues across Australia. For more information and touring schedule, visit: www.shakeandstir.com.au for details.