Dame Joy Cowley is one of New Zealand´s most accomplished writers of books for the past three generations of children. She has sold more than 40 million copies of her books worldwide, in English, Maori and more than two dozen other languages.

Dame Joy has moved to a modern townhouse at the north end of Dunedin;s Kaikorai Valley after her husband Terry passed on in September 2022.

She has advanced macular degeneration that only allows her to recognise faces when they very very close to her face.

But despite her rapid failing eyesight she has found ways to adapt to keep writing. She is planning her next book and the books after that.

Her latest books are:

Blind Date: "It is all about vision beyond seeing". Published in 2022 by Copy Press Books, Nelson, New Zealand.



And

A Lot of Silly: A Book of Rhymes and Nonsense, illustrated by David Barrow, 2024, published by Gecko Press.

Dame Joy is a patron and trustee of Storylines, the Children's Literature Foundation of New Zealand (CLFNZ) and has written a book on writing for children, "Writing from the Heart," as a fundraiser for Storylines.

Joy's Awards and Honours list.

For more on Dame Joy, her work, and some writing advice, click on the Tabs at the top of this page.