Margaret Mahy symposium
Christchurch City Libraries will celebrate the work of internationally famous children's author Margaret Mahy with a one-day literary symposium in July.
Mahy, one of New Zealand's most celebrated children's authors, turned 70 in March and the 2 July symposium will celebrate this milestone.
Margaret Mahy worked as a children's librarian in Christchurch, leaving in 1980 to become a full-time writer.
Following the Looping Line: a Celebration of Margaret Mahy will provide a forum for an entertaining and informative discussion of Mahy's young adult fiction. A lively programme of panel discussion, conversation and reader responses will deepen understanding and extend discussion of the work of one of our national treasures.
Featuring some of New Zealand's leading writers for children and the most notable commentators on children's literature, the symposium is for an adult audience, in particular those with a professional interest in Mahy's work, such as librarians, teachers and students of children's literature, and members of the public.
The programme will open with a keynote address by Tessa Duder, a writer for young adults and author of the recently published biography Margaret Mahy: a Writer's Life. This will be followed by a discussion by a panel of children's literature experts and academics about Mahy's literary legacy.
Authors David Hill, Joanna Orwin and Gavin Bishop will contribute to a second panel discussion with a focus on Mahy's influence on her fellow authors. Young adult writer and reviewer Kate De Goldi will engage in conversation with Mahy, the day concluding with a slide show tribute to the author and a social hour.
Margaret Mahy
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