Margaret Mahy (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
The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...
for her "lasting contribution to children's literature".
[
Mahy won the annual Carnegie Medal twice. It recognises the year's best children's book by a ]British subject
The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
, and she won for both '' The Haunting'' (1982) and '' The Changeover'' (1984).[ (As of 2012 just 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 Te Reo Māori, 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.]
The Margaret Mahy Playground in the Christchurch Central City
Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue ...
is named in her honour.
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.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
at Auckland University College
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
(1952–1954) and Canterbury University College
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...
, graduating in 1955. In 1956 she trained at the New Zealand Library School, Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
as a librarian.[
]
Personal life
From around 1965, Mahy lived at Governors Bay
Governors Bay is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand.
Geography
The settlement of Governors Bay is located on Banks Peninsula near the head of Lyttelton Harbour. It is connected via Governors Bay Road to Lyttelton, via Dyers Pass Road o ...
on the Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...
, Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
, in the South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
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
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Poss ...
jaw tumour
A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
in April 2012 and had been moved to a hospice
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...
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
Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach".
Europeans first settled in Pe ...
, the School Library Service in Christchurch, and in 1976 was appointed Children's Librarian at Canterbury Public Library. During this time many of her stories were published in the ''New Zealand School Journal
The ''New Zealand School Journal'' is a periodical children's educational publication in New Zealand. Founded in 1907 by the Department of Education, it is one of the world's longest-running publications for children. Since 2013 it has been pub ...
'' and her first book saw her become known internationally.[ ''A Lion in the Meadow'' was a ''School Journal'' story from 1965. It was published in 1969 by J.M. Dent in the U.K. and Franklin Watts in the U.S., as a large-format picture book illustrated by Jenny Williams.][ Also in 1969, ]William Heinemann Ltd
William Heinemann Ltd., with the imprint Heinemann, was a London publisher founded in 1890 by William Heinemann. Their first published book, 1890's ''The Bondman'', was a huge success in the United Kingdom and launched the company. He was joined ...
and Watts published another large-format picture book, ''The Dragon of an Ordinary Family'' with illustrations by Helen Oxenbury
Helen Gillian Oxenbury (born 1938) is an English illustrator and writer of children's picture books. She lives in North London. She has twice won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal, the British librarians' award for illustration and been runner-up ...
, who won the Greenaway Medal
The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a children's literature, book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information ...
from the British librarians recognising the year's best illustrated children's book. There were three others in that same year.
Mahy wrote several fantasy novels, including ''The Haunting'' and ''The Changeover''.
Mahy became a full-time writer in 1980. She went on to win numerous book awards and honours for her contributions to New Zealand and to children's literature. One was an honorary Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
from the University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...
. In 1985 she established the Margaret Mahy Fees Scholarship at the University of Canterbury.
The Margaret Mahy Medal Award was established by the New Zealand Children's Book Foundation in 1991 to provide recognition of excellence in children's literature, publishing and literacy in New Zealand.
On 6 February 1993, Mahy was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand
The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in the New Zealand royal honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted by royal warrant on 6 F ...
, for her contributions to children's literature. In March 2009 she was commemorated as one of the Twelve Local Heroes
The ''Twelve Local Heroes'' is a series of bronze busts located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand on Worcester Boulevard outside the Arts Centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An ...
and a bronze bust of her was unveiled outside the Christchurch Arts Centre
The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora is a hub for arts, culture, education, creativity and entrepreneurship in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located in the Gothic Revival former Canterbury College (now the University of Canterbury), Christchur ...
.
In 2010 her book ''Kaitangata Twitch'' was adapted for television and aired on Māori Television
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
. Directed by Yvonne Mackay and produced by The Production Shed.TV, the series includes a cameo appearance by Margaret Mahy in a library scene.
Awards
The biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award
The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...
conferred by the International Board on Books for Young People The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland.
IBBY history
In 1952, Jella Lepm ...
is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. Mahy received the writing award in 2006.[ Jury president Jeffrey Garrett wrote in the press release:
]In awarding the 2006 Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Writing to Margaret Mahy, the jury has recognized one of the world's most original re-inventors of language. Mahy's language is rich in poetic imagery, magic, and supernatural elements. Her oeuvre provides a vast, numinous, but intensely personal metaphorical arena for the expression and experience of childhood and adolescence. Equally important, however, are her rhymes and poems for children. Mahy's works are known to children and young adults all over the world.
Mahy won the Carnegie Medal in 1982 for '' The Haunting''.[ In 1984 she won the medal again for '' The Changeover''.][ In 2005 she won the Phoenix Prize for The Catalogue of the Universe.][
The ]Margaret Mahy Award
The Margaret Mahy Award, officially the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award, is a New Zealand literary prize presented to a person who has made a significant contribution to children's literature, publishing or literacy. Presented ann ...
, named for Mahy, is presented annually to "a person who has made a significant contribution to the broad field of children's literature and literacy". Mahy was the first recipient of the award in 1991. Lectures by the winners are published, the standard of which was set by Mahy's inaugural lecture,
Surprising Moments
'.
In 2013, the top prize for young adult fiction at the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards
The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards began in 1982 as the New Zealand Governme ...
was renamed the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award. Also in 2013, a playground based on her work was commissioned to be built in Christchurch's East Frame.
Some other awards:
* Italian Premier Grafico Award, ''The Wind Between the Stars'', 1976[Bateman,D. 2005. ''Bateman New Zealand Encyclopedia'': Sixth Edition. David Bateman Ltd. p. 407.]
* Dutch Silver Pencil Award, ''The Boy Who Was Followed Home'', 1977[
* ]New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards
The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards began in 1982 as the New Zealand Governme ...
, Best Young Adult Novel, 2003, ''Alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
''
*Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement
Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement is a New Zealand literary award established in 2003 by the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand), the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government. Each ...
(2005)
* Phoenix Award
The Phoenix Award annually recognizes one English-language children's book published twenty years earlier that did not then win a major literary award. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix that is reborn from its own ashes, signifying the bo ...
, 2005, '' The Catalogue of the Universe'' (1985)[
* Phoenix Award runner-up (Honor Book), 2006, '' The Tricksters''][
* ]Sir Julius Vogel Award
The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are awarded each year at the New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in New Zealand science fiction, fantasy, horror, and science fiction fandom. They are commonly referred to as the ...
, 2006, for services to New Zealand science fiction and fantasy
* Phoenix Award, 2007, ''Memory''[
* New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards, Children's Book of the Year, 2011, ''The Moon and Farmer McPhee''—picture book written by Mahy and illustrated by David Elliot
The Phoenix Award from the ]Children's Literature Association
The Children's Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association, based in the United States, of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers, and institutions dedicated to studying children's literature.Margaret W. Denman- ...
designates the best English-language children's book that did not win a major award when it was originally published twenty years earlier. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix, which is reborn from its ashes, to suggest the book's rise from obscurity. Mahy is one of three authors to win it twice (1985 to 2012).[
]
Works
Mahy wrote more than 100 picture books, 40 novels and 20 collections of short stories published between 1969 and 2014.
Notes
References
Further reading
* "Introducing Margaret Mahy". Betty Gilderdale. Viking Kestrel 1987.
External links
*
*Tessa Duder
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography essay
Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 2018
The Margaret Mahy pages
at Christchurch City Libraries
Christchurch City Libraries is operated by the Christchurch City Council and is a network of 21 libraries and a mobile book bus. Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake the previous Christchurch Central Library building was demolished, and w ...
Margaret Mahy
at Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust – with biography, selected bibliography, and awards list
Margaret Mahy
on Gecko Press's website
Margaret Mahy
at NZ On Screen
NZ On Screen is a state-funded online promotional showcase of New Zealand television and film. Funded by NZ On Air, it provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide ...
– with biography, partial screenography, and free streamed videos of Mahy's television work
Maragaret Mahy collection
at Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...
Margaret Mahy
at New Zealand Book Council
Read NZ Te Pou Muramura (formerly the New Zealand Book Council) is a not-for-profit organisation that presents a wide range of programmes to promote books and reading in New Zealand.
History
It was established in 1972 as a response to UNESCO's ...
– with biography, short descriptions of many of her books, and other information
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahy, Margaret
New Zealand children's writers
New Zealand women novelists
New Zealand fantasy writers
Carnegie Medal in Literature winners
Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners
Members of the Order of New Zealand
University of Canterbury alumni
People from Whakatāne
People educated at Whakatane High School
People from Christchurch
1936 births
2012 deaths
20th-century New Zealand novelists
21st-century New Zealand novelists
New Zealand women children's writers
Women science fiction and fantasy writers
21st-century New Zealand women writers
Penlington family