Janice Marriott facts for kids

Janice Marriott is a talented writer from New Zealand. She creates many different things, like books for children and young adults. She also produces audio stories, writes for TV, and helps other people learn to write. Janice has won several awards for her amazing books. She even received the special Margaret Mahy Medal in 2018. Today, she lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Her Life and Work

Early Life and Education

Janice Marriott was born in England on October 3, 1946. When she was a child, she loved reading. Some of her favorite books included The Wind in the Willows and The Jungle Book. She also enjoyed the Secret Seven and Famous Five series by Enid Blyton.

Janice went to school in Napier and Gisborne, New Zealand. She later studied at Victoria University of Wellington. She even took a special course in San Francisco about rare books. For a time, she worked in radio and television in California and Vancouver. Later, she became a teacher after graduating from the Wellington College of Education.

Her Writing Journey

In 1983, Janice stopped teaching to work on audio books. She produced these for a company called Learning Media. Her first children's book was published in 1989. Since then, she has written many stories and non-fiction books for kids and teens.

She has also written plays for radio. Her work includes documentaries and scripts for TV shows, like episodes of The WotWots. Janice has written many educational texts for publishers. You can also find her stories and articles in magazines and other book collections.

Helping Other Writers

Janice is passionate about helping new writers. She teaches courses on writing stories for children and poetry. She also helps writers by reviewing their manuscripts. You can find her writing poetry on her own blog.

She is a member of the New Zealand Association of Manuscript Assessors. This group helps make sure books are well-written. Recently, Janice moved to Auckland to be closer to her family. She enjoys spending more time with her grandson.

Awards and Achievements

Janice Marriott has received many honors for her writing. In 1994, she was the first writer-in-residence at Auckland College of Education. This means she was invited to live and write there. She also held a similar position at the University of Otago in 1997. In 2001, she received the Foxton Fellowship.

A big moment for Janice was in 2018. She was given the prestigious Margaret Mahy Medal. She also gave a special lecture in Auckland that year.

Her book Crossroads won two awards in 1996. These were the Aim Supreme Award and the Esther Glen award. In 2007, her book Thor’s Tale won the Junior Fiction Category. This was part of the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards. Another of her books, Soldier in the Yellow Socks, was a finalist in the Non-Fiction section.

Many of Janice's books have been named Storylines Notable Books. These are books recognized for their quality. Besides writing, Janice loves gardening. She was even nominated for Columnist of the Year in 2011 for her gardening articles. These articles appeared in House and Garden magazine.