Joy Cowley
| Joy Cowley | |
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Cowley, probably before 1987
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| Born | Cassia Joy Summers 7 August 1936 Levin, New Zealand |
| Pen name | Joy Cowley |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Ethnicity | New Zealand European (Scottish/Irish/Swedish/Danish) |
| Education | D.Litt (honorary) |
| Alma mater | Massey University |
| Period | 1967–present |
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| Website | |
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Cassia Joy Cowley DCNZM OBE (née Summers, born 7 August 1936), best known as Joy Cowley, is a New Zealand author of children's fiction, novels, and short stories.
Her first novel, Nest in a Fallen Tree (1967), was adapted into the 1971 film The Night Digger by screenwriter 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. She has been actively involved in teaching early reading skills and helping those with reading difficulties, in which capacity she has written approximately 500 basal readers (termed reading books in New Zealand).
Cowley was awarded a 1990 Commemoration Medal for services to New Zealand, and in 1992 she was awarded an OBE for services to children's literature. The following year she was granted an honorary doctorate (D.Litt) from Massey University, and was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Cowley was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM) for services to children's literature.
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