Margaret Mahy

Margaret Mahy was a renowned author of children's books who also wrote for television. Amongst her many international awards is the Hans Christian Andersen Award (known as the Little Nobel Prize) for a "lasting contribution to children's literature". A highly  visual writer, Mahy both wrote for the screen (Maddigan's Quest, Strangers), and her books inspired a number of programmes. She passed away on 23 July 2012.

When you work for television or film or anything like that, you work as a member of a team. When you write a book, on the whole you write as a solitary individual; sometimes very solitary. It’s a different process, and of course each process has got something to enjoy... Margaret Mahy