Dilman Dila's Signs With Luna For His New Solarpunk Novel, Dreams of a Yellow Balloon
- 6 minutes ago
- 2 min read
It is always a pleasure to work with our Luna authors on their new projects, and so it is with great joy that we welcome once again Dilman Dila and his new Solarpunk novel, Dreams of a Yellow Balloon, scheduled for release in 2028.
Dilman has been in the Luna family since 2020. He joined us for the launch of the Luna Novella series, with The Future God of Love, a fantasy novella shortlisted for several awards, including the Nommos. Dilman is an incredibly talented writer, in short and long form, as well as a resourceful and creative film and documentary maker: you absolutely need to check out his website, linked in his bio below.
The cover art will be by Irish artist Shauna McDonnell.
Dilman on the novel
Dreams of a Yellow Balloon is an emotional biography, about a boy in a wheelchair with god-like intelligence, whose inventions transform his world into a solarpunk utopia. In him, I poured all the dreams and fears I had as a child with a disability, and the discrimination that I suffered. Books gave me an escape, and writing gave me a way to present myself as something other than a ‘cursed’ child. Uganda in the 1980s was fragile, with parts of the country engulfed in war. While it never fully came to our small town, Tororo, the threat of it loomed just over the horizon, and other children teased me, saying, “If fighting starts, we’ll run and leave you behind.” Once, as we played football in a field in our street, a skirmish erupted about three kilometres away, and the sound of artillery rocked us. The other children fled, leaving me. I could not run fast enough, and so I limped alone in the street for more than a minute, struggling to enter the safety of indoors. Uganda is still fragile, and memories of that still haunt me. Writing stops it from turning into a nightmare, for I imagine a beautiful world where people choose peace, and build communities that can be considered solarpunk.
About Dilman Dila
Dilman Dila is a writer and filmmaker. His books include Where Rivers Go To Die, which was shortlisted for the Philip K Dick Awards (2024), and the novella The Future God of Love. He was shortlisted for the BSFA Awards (2021), the Nommo Awards for Best Novella (2021), and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize (2013), among many accolades. His short fiction appeared in The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Six, and in The Best of World SF V.2, among many anthologies. His first novel, Dreams of a Yellow Balloon, is coming in 2028. His films have won multiple awards. For more of his life and works, visit www.dilmandila.com