Joy Cowley
Encyclopedia
Cassia "Joy" Cowley, DCNZM
, OBE
(born in Levin
, 7 August 1936) is a New Zealand
author of novels, short stories, and children's fiction.
Her first novel, Nest in a Fallen Tree (1967), was converted into the 1971 film The Night Digger by Roald Dahl
. Following its success in the United States, Cowley wrote several works for adults: her novels Man of Straw (1972), Of Men and Angels (1972), The Mandrake Root (1975), and The Growing Season (1979) typically focused on families dealing with issues such as marital infidelity, mental illness, and death. Cowley has also published several collections of short stories, including Two of a Kind (1984) and Heart Attack and Other Stories (1985).
Cowley is known primarily for her children's fiction. Her children's novel The Silent One (1981), was made into a 1985 film; other works include Bow Down Shadrach (1991) and its sequel Gladly, Here I Come (1994). She has written 41 picture books, which include The Duck in the Gun (1969), The Terrible Taniwha of Timberditch (1982), Salmagundi (1985), and The Cheese Trap (1995). The Duck in the Gun and Salmagundi are explicitly anti-war books.
Cowley has been actively involved in teaching early reading skills
and helping those with reading difficulties, in which capacity she has written approximately 500 basal reader
s (termed reading books in her native New Zealand).
In 1992 Cowley was awarded an OBE
for services to children's literature; the following year she was granted an honorary doctorate
(D.Litt) from Massey University
. In 2005 she was awarded a DCNZM
(A Damehood in the old honour system).
The Joy Cowley Award
was established in her honour in 2002.
Cowley has been married three times, to Ted Cowley (1956–1967, died 2008), Malcolm Mason (1970–1985), dead, and Terry Coles (1989–present), and has four children. She currently lives in Wellington
, New Zealand.
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born in Levin
Levin, New Zealand
Levin is a town in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of New Zealand, and is the largest town in the Horowhenua district. It is 90 kilometres north of Wellington, 50 kilometres south of Palmerston North, and two kilometres to the east of Lake Horowhenua....
, 7 August 1936) is a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
author of novels, short stories, and children's fiction.
Her first novel, Nest in a Fallen Tree (1967), was converted into the 1971 film The Night Digger by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
. Following its success in the United States, Cowley wrote several works for adults: her novels Man of Straw (1972), Of Men and Angels (1972), The Mandrake Root (1975), and The Growing Season (1979) typically focused on families dealing with issues such as marital infidelity, mental illness, and death. Cowley has also published several collections of short stories, including Two of a Kind (1984) and Heart Attack and Other Stories (1985).
Cowley is known primarily for her children's fiction. Her children's novel The Silent One (1981), was made into a 1985 film; other works include Bow Down Shadrach (1991) and its sequel Gladly, Here I Come (1994). She has written 41 picture books, which include The Duck in the Gun (1969), The Terrible Taniwha of Timberditch (1982), Salmagundi (1985), and The Cheese Trap (1995). The Duck in the Gun and Salmagundi are explicitly anti-war books.
Cowley has been actively involved in teaching early reading skills
Reading education
Reading education is the process by which individuals are taught to derive meaning from text.Government-funded scientific research on reading and reading instruction began in the U.S. in the 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s, researchers began publishing findings based on converging evidence from...
and helping those with reading difficulties, in which capacity she has written approximately 500 basal reader
Basal reader
Basal readers are textbooks used to teach reading and associated skills to schoolchildren. Commonly called "reading books" or "readers" they are usually published as anthologies that combine previously published short stories, excerpts of longer narratives, and original works...
s (termed reading books in her native New Zealand).
In 1992 Cowley was awarded an OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to children's literature; the following year she was granted an honorary doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
(D.Litt) from Massey University
Massey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
. In 2005 she was awarded a DCNZM
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
(A Damehood in the old honour system).
The Joy Cowley Award
Joy cowley award
The Joy Cowley Award was established by Storylines: Children's Literature Foundation of New Zealand in 2002 to honour the outstanding contribution to children's literature by Joy Cowley....
was established in her honour in 2002.
Cowley has been married three times, to Ted Cowley (1956–1967, died 2008), Malcolm Mason (1970–1985), dead, and Terry Coles (1989–present), and has four children. She currently lives in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand.
External links
- Biography
- The Joy Cowley Collection (U.S. editions)
See also
- New Zealand literatureNew Zealand literatureNew Zealand literature is essentially literature in English that is either written by New Zealanders, or migrants, dealing with New Zealand themes or places and is primarily a 20th Century creation...