Speakers

The Conference has three days of incredible speakers, read a little more about them below.

Invited Speakers

  • Dr Hana O’Regan is of Kāi Tahu and Pākehā (Irish and Scottish) descent. Raised in Wellington, she moved to Te Waipounamu at 21 as a lecturer at Otago University, and after four years there, shifted to Ōtautahi where she has been based ever since.

    Hana has worked in the areas of language revitalisation, identity and cultural development, te reo Māori and education for over 30 years. She is a published author and composer and is recognised internationally for her work in indigenous language acquisition and revitalisation. A graduate of Te Panekiretanga – Institute of Excellence in Te Reo Māori, Hana is widely respected for her Māori language contribution, skills and advocacy. Hana’s passion for education and community, history and equity has resulted in a career committed to working with organisations, businesses and individuals to support and enhance positive outcomes for learners and whānau.

    She is one of the founders of the Kāi Tahu tribal language strategy, Kotahi Mano Kāika, Kotahi Mano Wawata, which was launched by the tribe in 2000 and continues to teach te reo, karaka and composition within her Kāi Tahu community.

    Hana was appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2021 and has held the position of Tumu Whakarae of Tātai Aho Rau Core Education since late 2020.

  • Dame Sue Bagshaw has spent her life working to improve the health and wellbeing of young people. She worked as a primary care doctor specialising in adolescent/youth health at a one-stop community youth health centre for 10-25 year olds. Sue helped set up the health centre, which is now called Te Tahi Youth. She is a senior lecturer in adolescent health in the department of Paediatrics at the Christchurch School of Medicine, and a Trainer with The Collaborative Trust, which she founded to improve health and development outcomes for rangatahi by training the adults who work with or for young people. Sue is also working towards setting up a Youth Hub to provide housing, creativity, recreation and services provision to young people.

  • Dr Margaret Merga has written more than a hundred peer-reviewed and research- informed publications, including six non-fiction books on literacy, libraries, research methods and research communications. Her research has been cited more than 3,000 times by scholars, and translated into many languages for academic, professional and public audiences.

    Margaret was deemed one of Australia’s top 250 researchers for 2024 (unranked). Margaret is also Australia’s leading researcher in the literacy and library related research field “English Language & Literature”.

    Her 2018 book Reading Engagement for Tweens

    and Teens has been influential in supporting teachers, parents and school leaders to maintain young people’s reading

    engagement beyond the early years, and her 2022 book School Libraries Supporting Literacy and Wellbeing highlights the benefits of school libraries. Her fifth book on how to write a whole school literacy policy was published in January 2023, and her sixth book Creating a Reading Culture in Primary and Secondary Schools: A Practical Guide is available now.

    Margaret leads Merga Consulting, delivering professional development opportunities and consulting with schools, professional associations and government departments on a range of literacy projects. For example, she runs workshops on how to evaluate school-led initiatives to demonstrate impact, conducts whole school literacy reviews, and supports the development of whole school reading cultures.

    She has also created free resources for The Education Hub in New Zealand, and there has been interest in her work in New Zealand’s media.

  • Born in Christchurch, and raised in Hawkes Bay, Alan Dingley is the Te Awhi Rito NZ Reading Ambassador, and is currently Library Manager at Freyberg High School in PN.

    Alan has over 25 years of experience working with children and young people, almost 20 of those in Libraries. Alan has been touring the country, engaging with tamariki and communities to champion Reading for Pleasure, and building a new generation of reading rolemodels.

  • Gabrielle Mace is an accomplished library executive with 14 years of experience in the independent education sector, specializing in strategic planning and policy development. Her expertise lies in enhancing library services to ensure exceptional service delivery to both staff and students. Gabrielle's notable achievements include leading the successful implementation of the renowned school-wide reading program, 'Just Read,' based on evidence-based research methodologies.

    With a strategic mindset, Gabrielle excels in operational functions and provides strong leadership in staff and resource management. She is the founder of ProReading Solutions, a boutique consultancy dedicated to delivering tailored embedded school literacy programs and expert coaching for diverse school environments. Gabrielle's custom solutions cater to students from PreK through Year 12, empowering educators and communities to improve literacy outcomes together. To learn more about Gabrielle Mace and ProReading Solutions, please visit https://proreadingsolutions.com/about/.

Workshop Presenters

  • As an English teacher, internationally published YA author, and (once upon a time) a library assistant, Jessica has been an advocate for books and reading her whole life.

    Wearing her author’s wings, she has travelled from the far north to the far south of NZ, promoting reading on behalf of Duffy Books in Homes and Storylines Children’s Literature Charitable Trust. Her experiences on these tours led directly to her training as teacher in 2019.

    Now, she is Head of Year 9 English at Westlake Boys’ High School and working on her PhD in Education, focusing on teens’ reading for pleasure, classroom reading communities, and adolescent literacy.

    When not reading, writing, or talking about books, Jessica can usually be found singing or sewing, or doing jigsaw and word puzzles. She lives in Auckland with her 2 children and husband, who are all also avid readers and writers.

    www.jlpawley.com

  • Zac McCallum is a school librarian at Te Kura O Te Tauawa Halswell School in Ōtautahi, Christchurch. Prior to becoming a school librarian, he worked in public and academic libraries and as a children’s bookseller. Zac is a huge supporter of New Zealand children’s literature and our many wonderful authors and illustrators, and his role on the Storylines Management Committee enables him to be a part of this supportive community.

  • Martha is a Teacher Librarian 3-6 girls independent school in Sydney and is the President of the Australian School Library Association. Martha holds qualifications in Teacher Librarianship and an Educational Psychology.

  • Amy Boswell-Hore is the Director and Accessibility Specialist of Access Quest New Zealand. She has a Master of Museum and Heritage Practice from Victoria University of Wellington and has held a variety of roles across the GLAM sector over the past decade. 

    By combining her experience with accessibility - personal and professional - and her knowledge of the GLAM sector, Amy dreams of helping New Zealand's GLAM sector become as accessible as possible

  • Following the completion of my secondary education in New Zealand, I went on to receive a BA in History from the University of Bristol in England and then stayed on living and working in the UK, developing a varied career in … pretty much anything that came along.

    I worked in the Shore Excursions office on cruise ships, herding elderly Americans around the beautiful sites of the Mediterranean basin, worked in retail, call centres, briefly in IT (that did not go well!), met a man, followed him to Glasgow, where I found myself working for HRH, The Princess Royal (I know, not the most glamorous of the Royals), married and producing little Scottish Kiwis. Then, for no particular reason, I decided it would be a good idea to uproot my family and move back to New Zealand (I have a very tolerant husband).

    After a few years as a hard-working mum, a fated glance at SEEK website found me in the Careers Department at Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland, but when a job in the library came up, I had an inkling that might be for me. Having spent less than a year working in the library, I decided I had finally found my calling, and it was time to commit. I began my Masters in Information Studies through Victoria University, and around the same time another twist of fate saw me become a regular monthly contributor to Jesse Mulligan’s radio talk show bothering the great New Zealand public by recommending middle grade and young adult books.

    I have a particular focus on reading engagement and championing the benefits a dedicated school library and a robust library programme bring to secondary schools and help in the fight against literacy decline.

    I remained working at the Senior Library at Dio for three years, before leaving at the beginning of 2023, to establish the Library Programme at the newly refurbished library at Mt Roskill Grammar. The fight continues there but that is another story…

  • Alice Corkran embodies a fresh perspective in school librarianship. She has recently transitioned from primary to high school settings and is now in her fourth year in the profession. Awarded with the SLANZA/LIANZA study grant in 2022, Alice completed her Diploma in Library and Information Studies in February 2024. She is currently planning her next level of study.

    Alice accidentally fell into librarianship, but this profession has evolved into a passionate pursuit. She views herself as a perpetual learner, still acquiring foundational knowledge while recognizing the vast expanse of expertise yet to explore. Alice is particularly passionate about the ethical dimensions of librarianship, emphasizing the pivotal role of school librarians in supporting student well-being and academic success.

    Alice will present "The Conflicting Ethics of Collection Development in High School Libraries." Her session will provide an overview, and personal examples, then facilitate discussion to encourage critical reflection among peers. Alice Corkran champions ethical and collaborative practices, placing students at the heart of library decisions and recognizing school libraries' transformative impact on student’s lives.

  • Julia is the librarian at Kerikeri High School Library in the far north of Te Tai Tokerau. She is passionate about fostering inclusive learning environments where all students feel valued and represented.

    Julia attends Te Ao Māori classes at her local Te Pūkenga, and fortnightly workshops on Kaupapa Māori within education which includes the decolonising of ourselves and our schools. This ongoing journey has proved hugely insightful and valuable.

    As a presenter, Julia hopes to empower colleagues to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion as core principles in library programmes and practices.

    She has been on SLANZA National Executive for eleven years.

  • In my 32 year career as a librarian I’ve worked across a range of library sectors including business, university, and now school.

    Despite being warned by a previous university library manager not to stay in the school library sector for too long as it was a “career dead end”, I have been happily managing the library at Heaton Intermediate School in Christchurch since 2011.

    While many outside the school library field imagine a school librarian’s job to be all about reading and issuing books, we on the inside might chuckle at their naivety (OK, perhaps an exasperated sigh or frustrated eye roll is more likely!). Like many school librarians, I have yet to read a book while “on the clock” and the majority of circulation duties are undertaken by our class Library Monitors. I do however spend quite a lot of time developing and delivering library sessions – on offer in 2024 in the Heaton Library are 16 different sessions covering Library Orientation, Research Skills and Reading Promotion.

    Although I’m not a qualified teacher, I have years of experience teaching library sessions and while working as a librarian at Lincoln University I completed part of a Certificate in Adult Teaching.

    If you want to find out more about what I teach in the library at Heaton and how I teach to maximise student engagement, come along to my workshop!

  • Michele Coombridge has been working in libraries for over 15 years and is the library manager at Pinehurst School, in Albany, Auckland. She holds a BA in Library and Information Science from the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and is an advocate for professional qualifications for New Zealand school librarians, as well as growing ourselves as library professionals through PD of all kinds.

    Michele is the current chair of the SLANZA Tamaki Makaurau team.

    Over the years her professional interests have included:

    International Languages collections - Information Literacy – Leadership - Digital tools for teaching and learning (including being a passionate promoter for eBooks & eAudio platforms for children and young people) - Resilience Work – Currently in facilitator training in the work of Parker Palmer, author of ‘Courage to Teach’.

  • Alicia first discovered zines while working as a shelver at Wellington Central Library and has been obsessed with them ever since. She joined Christchurch City Libraries as a Youth Librarian at Tūranga and is now a Community Librarian at Upper Riccarton Community and School Library. She's passionate about creating opportunities for rangatahi/teens to claim their space in libraries.

  • Currently the librarian at Selwyn House School in Christchurch, Sarah has many years of experience with reading aloud to children - first as a Children’s and Young Adult’s Librarian with the Christchurch City Libraries, then as a school librarian, and now as a parent herself. She is also not a stranger to performance with a background in community theatre and music, including treading the boards in several plays specifically for children.

  • Kate Hodgson is the Head of Library Services at Geelong Grammar School. Kate has over 30

    years of experience working in library and educational settings across diverse communities in

    both national and international locations. She is devoted to the ongoing development of quality

    frameworks for library and learning spaces, library strategic management and libraries as digital

    research partners for all members of the community. Kate is the Vice-President, Operations, of

    ASLA.

  • Debbie Ruwhiu

    Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pākehā, Poutama Pounamu, University of Waikato

    Māori and Pākehā whakapapa lay down the foundation for my work within Poutama Pounamu, including my experiences as Māori, as a primary teacher working in mainstream and bi-lingual primary education. Then, later transitioning into tertiary education supporting the development of teaching practice and cultural capability of staff. My unwavering belief in an equitable and unbiased education system, reinforces my responsibility to be instrumental in reducing disparities as a Poutama Pounamu Facilitator. The aim is to develop cultural relationships for responsive pedagogy by working with hapori to support the transformation of education systems.

  • Renate Beilharz is Catalogue Content Manager at the Schools Catalogue and Information Service. She started in school libraries and taught Librarianship at Box Hill Institute. Renate began a love affair with cataloguing rules and standards from first being introduced to Dewey, Sears and AARC2 in the 1980s. Renate is passionate about respectful representation of diversity in school library data.  She is overseeing the ongoing project to enhance SCIS Data to cultivate respect.

  • Aleesah Darlison is an award-winning author of over 65 books for children. She is well-known for her books that empower children and champion the cause of animals and the environment.

    Aleesah has won or been shortlisted for many awards including the Book Excellence Awards, the Environment Award for Children’s Literature, the CBCA Awards, the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards, and WAYBRA.

    Aleesah has written numerous creative fiction and non-fiction titles for the educational and commercial markets including Grace the Amazing, the Space Kids Series, the Super Sloth Series, the Endangered Animal Tales Series, Emerald, the Green Turtle’s Tale, Our Class Tiger, Puggle’s Problem, Warambi, Netball Gems, and the League of Llamas Series.

  • The story so far: In the beginning George was born.

    This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

    George Garnett is a British born serial immigrant who moved internationally twice before he was a teenager, finally settling in New Zealand. Despite the moves he always felt as if he had a second home in the nearest library. He read 100 books in less than a year before he was seven as part of a competition at the local library in his hometown of Exeter. But despite his love of reading he eventually struggled with writing in school, turning to his second passion, mathematics, and following that all the way to university where he majored in it as part of his BSc. But he never forgot about reading, within a couple of weeks of starting school in New Zealand he became a student librarian, and the following year at Wellington College he became one the youngest student librarians at the school. The first two jobs he ever applied for were library positions. After a 3 year break from Libraries, he was employed in the Library at his old school. Outside of Libraries, George is a Scout Kaiārahi, a Handball Player and Referee, a German Language (Goethe) Society member, an occasional German Tutor, and is a devoted fan of Wellington Rugby and Everton Football.

  • Kay Stodart is an Assistant Librarian at Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu. Before taking on the role, they were involved in the climate action space, which led to being offered a voluntary role on LIANZA's Standing Committee on Climate Action. They also like to maintain their skills in public librarianship, working one day a week at Porirua Library. When not busy working, they can be caught studying for their library qualification at Open Polytechnic or chipping away at some mahi for InsideOUT's board.

  • Chelsea (They/Them) is a proud queer and non-binary adult who along with their wife Theresa (She/Her) run Alphabet Book Club - an online bookstore in Aotearoa - New Zealand, selling books and products with positive LGBTQIA+ representation.

    We believe that books are for everyone and all kiwis should be able to see themselves represented in books without paying for excessive shipping, waiting for months, and supporting large international conglomerates!

    Our community is made up of book lovers and people from, by and for the rainbow community. With every book purchased, a portion is donated to nonprofit groups that are looking after our Queer, Trans, Intersex and Takatāpui family.

  • Cathy Kennedy is a qualified teacher and librarian who is passionate about school libraries and creating collaborative, effective learning environments for students that nurture creative problem solving, information literacy and reading. She has many years of experience as a primary school teacher and has always been a lover of literature and the possibilities it provides as a teaching and learning tool. In her role as Facilitator National Capability for Services to Schools, National Library, Cathy has worked with a wide range of schools throughout Canterbury and the top of the South Island, helping to transform libraries, advising on new school builds, and supporting teachers and library staff with information literacy and reading for pleasure.

  • Ellie Nicholson has been Library Manager at St Patrick's College in Wellington, a traditional Catholic boys college in the city for six years. Ellie has also this year taken on the role of Wellington Representative on the SLANZA National Executive. Ellie believes libraries have an ever more important role to play in safeguarding student access to books that can be the mirrors and windows they need.

  • Kathryn Andrews. Subject Librarian for Education, Sport Science, Business and Economics.

    Nick Scullin. Subject Librarian for Antarctic Studies, Biological Science, Environmental Science, Geology and Geography.

  •  (Ngāi Tahu) is a Manager in the Ngāi Tahu Archive at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. She works with Ngāi Tahu communities on history and memory projects including oral histories, exhibitions, interpretation, and publications. She leads the Ngāi Tahu Archive publishing programme which includes the award-winning Tāngata Ngāi Tahu series which explores tribal history through the lens of biography. She also works on content for the Ngāi Tahu digital atlas Kā Huru Manu and the Ngāi Tahu Archive database Kareao.

  • Adrian Clark is an Associate Professor in the School of Product Design at the University of Canterbury, teaching Game Design and Development into the Bachelor of Digital Screen programme. Adrian has a PhD in Computer Science, where he developed foundational Computer Vision technology for Augmented Reality – a field which has been largely replaced by AI.

    Generative AI is the latest and most prominent trend in AI, which allows computers to generate unique text, photos, music, and even video at the request of the user. In this talk, Adrian will be explaining what Generative AI is and how it works, what it can do, and things you should know about to ensure it’s ethical and appropriate use as librarians.

  • Andrew Raba is an experienced librarian and qualified yoga teacher. He has worked for Wellington Public Libraries, the Alexander Turnbull Library, and currently works as the school librarian at Western Springs College/ Nga Puna O Waiorea in Tamaki Makaurau. He earned an MA in literature from Victoria University and is completing a degree in psychology from the University of Auckland. Andrew is a long-time student of yoga and meditation and holds a 500-hour teacher training qualification. In response to the mental health crisis among young people he established the Yoga Education in Schools Charitable Trust in 2023. The trust runs yoga and breathing programs in primary and secondary schools around the country to support mental health and educational success. Andrew is passionate about introducing holistic wellbeing education into the New Zealand school system. He trains educators in New Zealand and internationally in how to share simple breathing practices with young people and their colleagues.

  • Vanessa Hatley-Owen has been the Librarian & Resource Manager of a primary school in Howick, Auckland for six years. In 2022 she gained the New Zealand Certificate Library and information Service for Children and Young Adults (Level 6) and has completed several SLANZA 'Connected Librarians' modules. In her spare time, she is a children's author with three published picture books (one of which was a finalist in the 2023 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults) and two shortlisted junior fiction manuscripts. She is also a member of the management committee of Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust NZ and contributes book reviews for Kids Books NZ. She lives in Auckland, and enjoys the movies and spending time with her grownup children.

  • Saniya, originally from Russia, is the Engagement and Programming Lead at Invercargill City Libraries and a person behind the organisation’s Tiktok. Arriving in New Zealand a decade ago, she brings a unique perspective to her role. A passionate public library advocate and patron and an award-winning Community Development Officer, Saniya champions libraries for their crucial role in social capital building. Beyond her library endeavours, she's an international kickboxing referee and co-founder of South Pole Dance aerial studio, showcasing her passion for both physical pursuits and community engagement.

  • Kristy has a decade of experience as a school librarian, catering to students ranging from Year 1 to Year 13 across diverse socio-economic backgrounds, from decile 1 to decile 10. This year she has started as Library Manager at Wellington Girls College.

    Her driver is to get the right resources into students and staff hands. Helping students navigate and engage with the physical library and online spaces more easily through visually appealing shelves, displays, catalogue and Instagram.

    Her passion lies in ensuring students and staff have access to the most suitable resources. She endeavours to enhance students’ interaction with both physical and online library spaces, employing visually captivating shelves, displays, catalogues, and an engaging Instagram presence.

    A voracious reader, Kristy can be found reading on the sidelines of her four teen’s sporting endeavours, listening to audio books while cooking, attending way too many book clubs and watching any book to screen adaptation.

    She models her house and libraries on the poet and textile designer William Morris’ words ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.’

  • Leonie is the Lead Librarian at Sacred Heart Girls College Hamilton and the Waikato Bay of Plenty representative on SLANZA National Executive.

    Leonie is passionate about school libraries and about having diverse collections in school libraries, so students are able to see themselves in the books they read.

    Leonie worked with LIANZA on creating the quick guide for school libraries for their Freedom to Read toolkit.

  • Eric is a Principal Lecturer and the Programme Leader for the Library and Information Studies team at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. Originally from Ghana, where he worked as a school teacher for several years and got involved in different school library initiatives. Eric first came to New Zealand in 2010 to study at Victoria University of Wellington and upon completing, started teaching at the Open Polytechnic in 2013. He is very active in the library and information management communities in New Zealand and internationally. He is a past President of ARANZ (2018-2021). He is also a committee member of the International Review Group (IRG) of New Zealand, responsible for the development of ISO standards for records management. He is a member of RIMPA. Eric is also active in the School Libraries Association of New Zealand (SLANZA) and the Library and Information Association of New Zealand (LIANZA). He enjoys research in school libraries and archives.

  • Louana McCormack is currently the Librarian at Ōpaheke School in Papakura. She has over 10 years of school Library experience both at secondary and primary levels Louana was the craft column contributor for the Summerset Scene magazine for 2 years and she has been a passionate 'Maker' her whole life!

  • Dr Elizabeth Eley

    Associate Director, Poutama Pounamu, University of Waikato

     

    Elizabeth’s career has spanned primary teaching, school leadership, research in national educational initiatives as well as working for the Education Review Office and Ministry of Education.  For the past eight years, Elizabeth has been with the University of Waikato, focusing on transformative praxis within schools to promote Māori students’ educational success as Māori.  Drawing from kaupapa Māori and critical theories, Poutama Pounamu works towards disrupting deeply entrenched prejudices, and creating contexts for learning where Māori learners belong and can benefit. These practices have important implications for non-Māori learners and their teachers.

     

  • (Ngāi Tahu) is a Manager in the Ngāi Tahu Archive at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Since 2005 Takerei has managed Kā Huru Manu, focuses on recording Ngāi Tahu histories, traditions, and place names on the Ngāi Tahu Geographical Information System. In 2019 Takerei managed the development of Kareao the online archive database that provides unprecedented access to the tribal archive. The Ngāi Tahu Archive is constantly striving to connect the archival collections with people via innovative outputs and exciting projects.

  • Carole is the Library Manager at John McGlashan College in Dunedin. She has a background in tertiary and school libraries and managed the school library at Queen's High School for over a decade. More recently she has worked in the support and sales teams at Accessit Library. Carole has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember, and loves matching the right person with the right book. With 3 boys of her own, she understands what makes boys tick and can hold a conversation on most sporting topics (as long as it doesn't require too much detail!) Carole is a SLANZA honorary life member, a constant advocate for school libraries, and loves the challenges and rewards that come with being a school librarian.

  • Bridget works for the National Library as a Facilitator in the National Capability team for Services to Schools and is based in Ōtepoti Dunedin. She works with schools across Otago. Her background of 17 years working as a sole charge librarian in a large boys school informs her strong belief that boys do love to read, that they appreciate great books and an enthusiastic book pusher. Bridget has been involved in many bookish projects in the literary world, is a Life Member of SLANZA and is a heavy-duty reader. She’s an enthusiastic messy gardener and baker. She is a passionate supporter of school libraries and the people who run them and use them.

  • Sonja is a Teacher Librarian at Sacred Heart College, Adelaide She co-faciltates the Australian School Library Association Mentoring Program with Kate Hogson. Sonja holds qualifications in Information Management (Library and Information Management), Education, Special Education and Information Technology.

  • With over 30 years’ experience as a teacher librarian, Annie is passionate about enlisting the support of all her library users, staff, students, and parents, to spread to word about 'the magic of reading'. She is upbeat and enthusiastic and is constantly marketing and promoting the treasures within the library. Never one to stand still, Annie is constantly reflecting on her methods, engagement techniques and strategies to engage students with reading. She is the instigator the Slanza Readers Cup and the Battle of the Bibliophiles in New Zealand.

Authors’ Panel

  • Rachael King is a writer, reviewer and former programme director of WORD Christchurch. She’s the author of two novels for children: Red Rocks, which won the Esther Glen Medal in 2013, and The Grimmelings, published this year in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, and next year in the US. Her adult novels, The Sound of Butterflies and Magpie Hall, were published in nine languages altogether. Red Rocks is currently being filmed in Wellington for Sky TV by Libertine Pictures. 

    In 2023 she was named Best Reviewer at the Voyager New Zealand Media Awards.

    www.rachael-king.com

  • Aleesah Darlison is an award-winning author of over 65 books for children. She is well-known for her books that empower children and champion the cause of animals and the environment.

    Aleesah has won or been shortlisted for many awards including the Book Excellence Awards, the Environment Award for Children’s Literature, the CBCA Awards, the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards, and WAYBRA.

    Aleesah has written numerous creative fiction and non-fiction titles for the educational and commercial markets including Grace the Amazing, the Space Kids Series, the Super Sloth Series, the Endangered Animal Tales Series, Emerald, the Green Turtle’s Tale, Our Class Tiger, Puggle’s Problem, Warambi, Netball Gems, and the League of Llamas Series.

  • Vanessa Hatley-Owen has been the Librarian & Resource Manager of a primary school in Howick, Auckland for six years. In 2022 she gained the New Zealand Certificate Library and information Service for Children and Young Adults (Level 6) and has completed several SLANZA 'Connected Librarians' modules. In her spare time, she is a children's author with three published picture books (one of which was a finalist in the 2023 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults) and two shortlisted junior fiction manuscripts. She is also a member of the management committee of Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust NZ and contributes book reviews for Kids Books NZ. She lives in Auckland, and enjoys the movies and spending time with her grownup children.