The Word Witch

PICTURE BOOK FINALIST

The Word Witch
Margaret Mahy & David Elliot, edited by Tessa Duder
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN 978-1-86950-707-7 hb RRP $44.99
Target age 6+

The Word Witch can lasso with a limerick, haunt with a haiku and wrap you tight in a rhyme as quick as lightning. Her cauldron is a dictionary, her wand a mighty pen, and she stirs her words at midnight, making tempting treats for children. Her name is Margaret Mahy and these are her spells.

A collection set to delight generations of readers who have grown up with Margaret and enchant newcomers to her work for many years to come.

	Margaret Mahy is a renowned word witch who has been enchanting children for over forty years with her novels, stories and poems. A member of the Order of New Zealand, an Honorary Doctor of Letters and twice winner of Britain’s Carnegie Medal for Children’s Literature, she has also been honoured by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand as a Living Icon, and been awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her outstanding contribution to children’s literature.
	David Elliot is an award-winning children’s illustrator and author. He has had a varied career, working at different times as a zoo gatekeeper, an Antarctic dishwasher, an interior designer and a teacher, before becoming a fulltime illustrator in 1998. David is currently working on three new picture books one of which is, again, in collaboration with Margaret Mahy.
	Tessa Duder has published more than 35 books — award-winning novels, picture books, non-fiction, plays and anthologies for children; a collection of short stories, anthologies and non fiction for adults.  Her lifelong admiration for and friendship with Margaret Mahy was reflected in her portrait Margaret Mahy: A Writer’s Life.