Anna Mackenzie (born 22 April 1963) is a New Zealand writer of contemporary, historic and speculative fiction for adult and young adult audiences.[1] She has won numerous awards for her writing and also works as an editor, mentor, teacher of creative writing programmes and public speaker at festivals and in schools.
Anna Mackenzie | |
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Born | Palmerston North, New Zealand | April 22, 1963
Occupation | Writer |
Nationality | New Zealand |
Genre | Historical fiction speculative fiction contemporary literature |
Anna Mackenzie was born in Palmerston North, New Zealand on 22 April 1963.[2] She was a keen reader and wrote her first collection of stories aged 7.[3] She started writing for children when running reading groups at her own children’s school.[2]
She has a degree in psychology and while studying at Victoria University in Wellington she helped to produce the university newspaper, Salient.[4] Later she worked in publishing and spent some time overseas in a variety of jobs ranging from nannying in London to hiring out fishing boats on the West Coast of Scotland.[4]
Mackenzie now lives on a farm in Hawkes Bay.[5] She has served as Vice-President of the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) and Central Districts Regional Delegate.[6] As well as writing, she edits magazines, mentors aspiring writers and teaches creative writing and speaks at schools and literary festivals.[7] She has appeared at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival in 2010,[8] Writers Week at the New Zealand Festival in Wellington in 2016,[9] the Hawke’s Bay Readers & Writers Festival in 2013[10] and 2018,[11] and she was a speaker, panellist and Chair in several sessions of the NZSA National Writers Forum in 2018.[12]
Her nine novels have been recognised with an NZ Post Honour Award, Sir Julius Vogel Award, iBooks ‘Top Five’ and Storylines Notable Book Awards.[3] The Sea-wreck Stranger was awarded a prestigious White Raven Award for outstanding children's literature.[1]
In 2013 she was awarded a writing residency in Belgium by Belgian arts organisation Passa Porta,[5] and in 2014 she spoke at ‘This Way Up’,[13] the Australia and New Zealand Festival of Literature and Arts in London.[5]