Mary-anne is a musician and writer of children’s fiction and she lives in Havelock North. She found inspiration for her first two books, Snakes and Ladders and Coming Home to Roost, when her four sons were teenagers. Her next three novels, Sticking with Pigs, Spearo and The Tomo are adventure-based stories and have been very popular with middle-grade readers. She has also published a small book for junior readers, Fantastic Mr Bean which gives more than a nod towards the one and only Roald Dahl.
Mary-anne has been shortlisted for the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults four times, shortlisted for the LIANZA Awards, shortlisted for the NZ Mountain Film and Book Awards, winner of Teenage Choice Award and been awarded four Storylines Notable Book awards.
As our 15th writer-in-residence is going to use her ‘gift of time’ to write a story for older teens that explores the ‘ownership’ of a creative work but, as usual, has sibling love at its core.