Janice Marriott, children’s novelist and screenwriter, audio producer, editor and teacher, has won the 2018 Storylines Margaret Mahy Award for lifetime achievement and a distinguished contribution to New Zealand’s children’s literature.

‘Storylines is pleased to honour Janice Mariott’s career and contribution over nearly three decades’, says Storylines Trust chair Dr Libby Limbrick. ‘The range of her writing, editing and mentoring skills across children’s fiction and non-fiction is truly exceptional. Janice is also widely known in New Zealand schools for choosing and producing in audio book format hundreds of original children’s songs for the acclaimed teacher’s resource Kiwi Kidsongs’. 

Twice winner of the New Zealand children’s novel of the year, Janice Marriott began her publishing career in 1989 with Letters to Lesley and Brain Drain, followed by a steady flow of children’s and YA novels, educational texts, short stories, radio plays and documentaries, scripts for the TV series The Wot Wots, also books on gardening for both children and adults. She has held writers residencies at the Auckland and Dunedin Colleges of Education and judged several major books awards.  

Over the past fifteen years she has developed a parallel career as a sought-after creative writing tutor and mentor for tertiary institutions, online writing schools and for her own consultancy as editor and manuscript assessor. Janice’s full biography and details of her achievements are available on her website, link:

The Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal is New Zealand’s most prestigious honour for children’s authors, illustrators and publishers.  Among the 27 recipients since 1991 are Joy Cowley, Lynley Dodd, Jack Lasenby, Maurice Gee, Gavin Bishop, David Hill, Kate De Goldi and in 2017 Des Hunt.

The award will be presented at the Storylines Margaret Mahy Awards Day in Auckland on Sunday 8 April 2018.