Our tenth writer-in-residence for the year, Gillian is an award-winning children’s author. Her books include the popular “Explore and Discover” series about nature habitats. Her most recent book is New Zealand Nature Heroes: inspiration and activities for young conservationists. Gillian has a background in teaching and education. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Gillian was a publisher and education consultant.
Gillian encourages young people to read and write about nature through Writers in Schools, library workshops and other programmes. She is passionate about protecting and caring for the unique biodiversity and wild places of Aotearoa New Zealand and volunteers on local and national conservation projects.
The project Gillian is working on for her residency is a work of Junior Fiction – Hunt for the Kōkako is an exciting adventure in which two children embark on a hunt to find evidence that the South Island Kōkako still exists. The story is based on the fact that The South Island Kōkako Trust has issued a $10,000 reward for information that would confirm it is not extinct.