Barbara Else is the author of six novels for adults, seven for children, and the non-fiction Go Girl – A Storybook of Epic NZ Women. She has also edited several anthologies of stories for children and young adults. Her first novel The Warrior Queenwas on the NZ Bestseller list for almost a year, and short listed for the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Her second, Gingerbread Husbands, was short listed for the Booksellers BookData Award. Her historical novel Wild Latitudeshas recently been republished in the UK. Barbara’s fantasy quartet for children, Tales of Fontania, starting with The Travelling Restauranthas had overseas publications and won several awards including IBBY and White Raven awards.  Barbara holds an MNZM for services to literature, the Esther Glen Medal and the Margaret Mahy Award. She has been Writer in Residence at Victoria University of Wellington and the Otago University College of Education/Creative New Zealand Children’s Writer in Residence. With her husband, author Chris Else, she runs TFS, an advisory service for writers: this includes a manuscript assessment service. Barbara is co-ordinator of the New Zealand Association of Manuscript Assessors. She has twice been a judge for the NZ Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. In 2018 she delivered The Margaret Mahy Memorial Lecture at Christchurch WORD.Her latest book is a memoir, Laughing at the Dark (Penguin) 2023.

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