Trivia

She was awarded the Order of Merit of New Zealand for her services to literature and New Zealand.

Mahy lived at Governors Bay on the Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, in the South Island of New Zealand. She had been a solo mother and raised two daughters there.

She often visited schools and libraries, sometimes in costume.

In 1980, she became a full-time writer. She won numerous awards and honors for her contributions to children's literature, including the Carnegie Medal and the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. She was the first writer from outside Britain to be awarded the Carnegie Medal.

She studied at Auckland University College from 1952 to 1954 and Canterbury University College, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in 1955. A solo mother of two, she attended the New Zealand Library School so she could work as a librarian during the day and write her stories at night.

When she was 62, she got a tattoo. She had it etched on her right shoulder: a tattoo of a skull with a rose in its teeth.

Mahy, a big believer in reading aloud to children, made many appearances at local schools to read from her books, often dressed in an elaborate feathered outfit and multicolored wig.

Won the New Zealand Post Children's book of the Year in 2011 for 'The Moon and Farmer McPhee'.

Won the Phoenix Award in 2007 for 'Memory'.

Won the Sir Julius Vogel Award in 2006 for services to New Zealand science fiction and fantasy.

Won Phoenix Award in 2005 for 'The Catalogue of the Universe'.

Won for best young adult novel in the New Zealand Post children's book awards in 2003 for 'Alchemy'.

Mahy was the first person outside of Britain to win the Carnegie Medal in 1982, for her book The Haunting. In 1984 she won the medal again for The Changeover.

In 2006, Margaret Mahy won the prestigious biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing, in recognition of her lifetime contribution to children's literature.

She worked as a librarian in Petone, the School Library Service in Christchurch, and in 1976 was appointed Children's Librarian at Canterbury Public Library.

Mahy completed her undergraduate BA 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.

She wrote her first published story when she was 7, called "Harry Is Bad".

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.

Mahy won the annual Carnegie Medal in Literature from the Library Association, recognizing the year's best children's book by a British subject, both for The Haunting (1982) and for The Changeover (1984).

She got a tattoo at 62 years old on her right shoulder of a skull with a rose in its teeth.

She was the first author from outside Britain to win the Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature in 1982 for "The Haunting" and again in 1984 for "The Changeover." She was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006.

She was the oldest of six children. Daughter of Frances George Mahy, a construction engineer, and May Mahy, a school teacher.

She never married but is survived by two daughters, Bridget and Penelope; a granddaughter; and a cousin, Ron Mahy.