Storylines celebrated the winners of its major awards at a special event in Auckland on Sunday 28 March

2021 Storylines award-winners honoured

At the Storylines Margaret Mahy National Awards Day, recipient of the 2021 Storylines Margaret Mahy Award for lifetime achievement in children’s literature, Julia Marshall, gave the 2021 Storylines Margaret Mahy lecture.Her lecture outlined the genesis of and influences on her publishing company Gecko Press, but more importantly, perhaps, looked at the importance of others in inspiring, influencing cementing a love of reading in young people. “For every reader, she says, among many other, wise things: “there is this group of people, this village, that nudge the children to find those good books at just the right moment.”

Read the full text of Julia’s lecture.

Other awards to be presented were:

Storylines Te Kahurangi Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira Award for a manuscript written originally in te reo Māori
Storylines Gavin Bishop Award for a previously unpublished illustrator
Storylines Joy Cowley Award for a picture book manuscript
Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award for a junior novel manuscript
Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award

Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a much-loved book


Storylines Patron Dame Wendy Pye introduced Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal winner, Julia Marshall	Julia Marshall, publisher at Gecko Press, presents the 2021 Storylines Margaret Mahy Lecture	Storylines Te Kahurangi Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira Award winner Jane Cooper accepts her award

Penny Scown, of award sponsor Scholastic New Zealand, welcomes the short-listed entrants for the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award.	Storylines Trustee Tessa Duder presents Angie Belcher and Debbie Tipuna with their Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Awards.	Kirsty Wadsworth speaks after being announced as the winner of the Storylines Joy Cowley Award