Name: Susan Battye  ONZM Branch: Auckland
Email: info@dramamagic.com
City: Auckland 1022
Country: New Zealand
Member Profile: Susan is a playwright of several plays for young people, teaching resource books and the co-author of a children’s novel. She lives in Auckland with her partner. Between 1974 and 2004 Susan worked as a teacher of Drama and English, notably at Greymouth High School and Epsom Girls Grammar School. Thereafter she became the Programme Manager of the Bachelor Maori Performing Arts at Te Wananga O Aotearoa and established her performing arts and educational resource company, Drama Magic Ltd. She is the author of nine published plays, notably The Shadow of the Valley, published by Oxford University Press in 1980, which was co-written with Thelma Eakin and an historical novel for young people, The Mine’s Afire! co-written with Thelma Eakin was published by Scholastic. This novel was a finalist in the 2010 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards. Her latest novel in the New Zealand My Story series is Cup Magic. She has also written and produced three e.books, notably South Pacific Pictures: The Inside Story in partnership with South Pacific Pictures. Other published writing includes Drama Cuts and the Drama Cuts Teacher’s Resource published by Phoenix Education (Australia) and five Drama and three Maori educational resource books published by User Friendly Resources, most notably Working With Treaty Principles at School: Nga Tikanga oTe Tiriti hei Mahi i te Kura (with Edith Chaney) The Treaty in Action - Nga Mahi Tiriti and Powhiri in Action: He Kete O Te Reo Powhiri (with Kiri Waitai) . Her most recent works include eleven Sigma English NCEA Level 1 Workbooks for Sigma Publications. In 2015 Susan edited Nesting on the Nushagak, a self-published memoir by Emma Stevens, in 2018 a novel, The Bomb Maker’s Daughter by Thomas Ryan published by Far and Wide Publications and in 2019 a self-published memoir, A Skylark Sings by Norma Pretscherer and Karen Jarvis with Life Story Publishing. In 2017 Susan's award winning short story, Mocked, was published in Horizons 3 by New Zealand Society of Authors: Top of the South Branch. In 2020 Susan published Dramatic Shorts 1: An Anthology of Plays  and Dramatic Shorts 2 An Anthology of Plays together with accompanying Teacher Resource books, with User Friendly Resources Ltd. Susan is a former board member and vice president of NZSA representing Auckland, Northland and Waikato branches. In 2024 Susan was made and Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for Services to Performing Arts Education.