Margaret Mahy

Young Adult Author

Birthday March 21, 1936

Birth Sign Aries

Birthplace New Zealand

DEATH DATE Jul 23, 2012 (76)

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About

Notable for her Carnegie Medal-winning young adult books The Changeover and The Haunting, Mahy also penned the classic and widely-translated works The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate and A Lion in the Meadow.

Before Fame

After studying at both Auckland University College and Canterbury University College, she trained as a librarian and was eventually hired as the Canterbury Public Library's head Children's Librarian.

Trivia

Her numerous literary honors include the 2006 Hans Christian Andersen Award; the 2003 New Zealand Post Children's Book Award; and the 2005 Phoenix Award.

Family Life

She and her four younger siblings were raised in Whakatane, New Zealand. She later settled in Canterbury, New Zealand, with her two daughters (whom she raised alone).

Associated With

She and Joy Cowley are both well-known children's authors from New Zealand.