Margaret Mahy is a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her books feature fantastic themes common in Fantasy literature, but most of her plots concentrate on human relationships and growing up.
Margaret Mahy was born in Whakatane, New Zealand, in 1936. One of her better-known books is The Haunting, which received the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association. She has written at least 12 novels, including a recent Alchemy in 2002.