As 2024 NZSA President of Honour Barbara Else MNZM presents Friends and Elephants.
Barbara was awarded the 2024 President of Honour in recognition of her contribution across the literature sector in Aotearoa. Barbara writes fiction and non-fiction for adults and children, is a literary agent, and editor. She has received an MNZM for services to literature and has won numerous local and international awards such as the Esther Glen Award for novel of the year, an international White Raven award, and the Margaret Mahy Medal in recognition of her services to children’s literature.
Her lecture will be followed by the presentation of the 2024 CLNZ | NZSA Writers’ Award, brief readings from emerging writers, refreshments, and a book signing.
Presented in partnership with the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc.
FREE
Barbara Else
Barbara Else’s work for adults is distinguished by its acerbic wit and sharp observation and is often concerned with bringing women out of the shadows. She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature in 2005. In 2016 Barbara received the Margaret Mahy Medal for her services to children’s literature. Her latest book is a collection of short fiction, The Pets We Have Killed. Barbara ’s memoir Laughing at the Dark was a finalist in the 2024 Ockham Awards. The Spinoff reviewer Michelle A’Court commented ‘liberation is at the centre of this book.’