Margaret Mahy
Margaret Mahy was born in Whakatane, Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand on March 21st, 1936 and is the Young Adult Author. At the age of 76, Margaret Mahy biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 76 years old, Margaret Mahy physical status not available right now. We will update Margaret Mahy's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.
Margaret Mahy, ONZ (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books.
Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.
She wrote more than 100 picture books, 40 novels and 20 collections of short stories.
At her death she was one of thirty writers to win the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her "lasting contribution to children's literature".Mahy won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject, both for The Haunting (1982) and for The Changeover (1984).
(As of 2012 seven writers have won two Carnegies, none three.) She was also a highly commended runner up for Memory (1987).Among her children's books, A Lion in the Meadow and The Seven Chinese Brothers and The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate are considered national classics.
Her novels have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Japanese, Catalan and Afrikaans.
In addition, some stories have been translated into Russian, Chinese and Icelandic.
Early life
Mahy was born in 1936, the eldest of five children. She was raised in her birthplace of Whakatane. Her father, Francis George Mahy, was a bridge builder and often told his children adventure stories which later influenced Mahy's writing. Her mother Helen Penlington was a teacher. She was regarded as a 'slow learner', and particularly hated mathematics. Her first published story was "Harry is Bad", written at age seven (published in the children's page of the Bay of Plenty Beacon). She showed it to her class to let them know that they could write stories at any age.
She went to the local high school, where she was acknowledged as a talented swimmer.
Education
Mahy completed her B.A. at Auckland University College (1952–1954) and Canterbury University College, graduating in 1955. In 1956 she trained at the New Zealand Library School, Wellington as a librarian.
Personal life
From around 1965, Mahy lived at Governors Bay on the Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, in the South Island of New Zealand. She was a solo mother and raised two daughters there. At age 62, Mahy had her right shoulder tattooed with the picture of a skull with a rose in its teeth. She was writing about a person being tattooed and considered the tattoo research to enable her to describe the experience convincingly.
In 2007, Mahy adopted a cavoodle puppy she named Honey, because of her colour. Mahy died at the Nurse Maude Hospice in St Albans, Christchurch on 23 July 2012, aged 76. She had been diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous jaw tumour in April 2012 and had been moved to a hospice about nine days before her death.
Her final book Tail of a Tale, published posthumously in 2014, was commissioned by Polish photographer Tomasz Gudzowaty.
Career
She worked as a librarian in Petone, the School Library Service in Christchurch, and was appointed Children's Librarian at Canterbury Public Library in 1976. During this period, many of her stories were published in the New Zealand School Journal, and her first book saw her become well-known nationally. A Lion in the Meadow was a School Journal article from 1965. J.M.'s book was published in 1969. In the United Kingdom and Franklin Watts in the United States, as illustrated by Jenny Williams in a large-format picture book. William Heinemann Ltd and Watts published another large-format picture book, The Dragon of an Ordinary Family, with illustrations by Helen Oxenbury, who was awarded the British librarians' Best illustrated children's book of the year. In the same year, there were three others.
Mahy wrote several fantasy books, including The Haunting and The Changeover.
Mahy became a full-time writer in 1980. She went on to win countless book awards and accolades for her contributions to New Zealand and children's literature. One of them was an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Canterbury. Margaret Mahy Fees Scholarship at the University of Canterbury was established in 1985.
The Margaret Mahy Medal Award was established by the New Zealand Children's Book Foundation in 1991 to highlight excellence in children's literature, publishing, and literacy in New Zealand.
Mahy was named a Member of the Order of New Zealand on 6 February 1993 for her contributions to children's literature. In March 2009, she was named one of the Twelve Local Heroes, and a bronze bust of her was unveiled outside the Christchurch Arts Centre.
Kaitangata Twitch, a woman's book from 2010, was made for television and broadcast on Mori Television. The project was directed by Yvonne Mackay and produced by The Production Shed.TV. Margaret Mahy made a cameo appearance in a library scene.