J. L. Williams
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J. L. Williams | |
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| Add a Photo | |
| Born | 1959 (age 65–66) Fiji |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland |
| Occupation | Author |
Janine L. Williams is a New Zealand children’s and historical author.[1][2][3][4]
In 2024 Williams was the inaugural winner of the Lynley Dodd Children’s Writers Award.[5][4]
Two of her books are in the list of Storylines: Children's Literature Foundation of New Zealand Notable New Zealand Books.[6]
Biography
Williams was born Janine McLaren in 1959 in Fiji. Her father was an electrician with the New Zealand Airforce and her mother was a correspondence school teacher. The family moved to England, and then returned to New Zealand in 1964. Her mother was an avid reader and read constantly to the family, instilling a life-long love of books. She attended the University of Auckland, gaining a B.A. in English Literature. She worked initially in Insurance, then when she married and had children she combined raising and educating the family with a variety of roles such as note-taking for deaf tertiary students, and establishing a pottery studio. She and her family then moved to a rural property near Whangarei to develop an orchard.[2][3]
Development as an Author
While raising and schooling her five children Williams formulated short stories, and after attending a creative writing course[7] held by Michael Botur was inspired to write full length books. The mentoring provided through being the winner of the inaugural Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award[8] gave her the confidence to pursue her writing. With an interest in historical fiction, she used the concept of introducing present day children into an historical setting via a time-travel portal.[2][3]
Bibliography
Holding the Horse Series, historical set in post-WW2 New Zealand
The Secret Staircase Series, portal from current day New Zealand into historical Russell, New Zealand in the Bay of Islands
- The Secret Staircase (2024 Ocean Echo Books)
- Music on Kohatu Street (manuscript as at 2025)
- Danger at Kohatu House (draft as at 2025)
Awards
- 2015 Shortlisted for the Storylines Joy Cowley Award[11]
- 2020 Winner of the inaugural Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award[8]
- 2021 Shortlisted for the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award[12]
- 2022 Winner in the Storylines Notable Book Awards in the junior fiction category[13]
- 2023 Finalist in the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults Best First Book[14]
- 2023 Winner in the Storylines Notable Book Awards Junior Fiction Category[13]
- 2024 Inaugural winner of the Lynley Dodd Children’s Writers Award[5][4]
References
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jenny Ling, "Award makes years of toil worthwhile", The New Zealand Herald, 14 November 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Janine Williams", Arts Foundation of New Zealand, 12 November 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sophie Dale, "A career generously supported by Lynley Dodd", Arts Foundation of New Zealand, 9 August 2024. Retrieved 25-01-21
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sophie Dale, "Introducing the Lynley Dodd children's writers award", Arts Foundation of New Zealand, 2 July 2024. Retrieved 25-01-21
- ↑ Storylines Notable Book Awards, Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 21 January 2025
- ↑ Creative Writing Northland, "Creative Writing Northland". Retrieved 21 January 2025
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award", Storylines Notable Book Awards. Retrieved 21 January 2025
- ↑ "Holding the Horse", Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 21 January 2025
- ↑ "Like the Wind", Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 21 January 2025
- ↑ "Joy Cowley Award", Storylines Notable Book Awards. Retrieved 21 January 2025
- ↑ "Tom Fitzgibbon Award", Storylines Notable Book Awards. Retrieved 21 January 2025
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Notable Books Awards", Storylines Notable Book Awards. Retrieved 21 January 2025
- ↑ "New Zealand Book Awards", New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Retrieved 21 January 2025
External links
This article "J. L. Williams" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.