Kia ora koutou,I'm a multi-award winning New Zealand author with a drive to tell stories that talk about the big issues the world world is facing, as well as the deepest most personal stories we hold inside. I predominantly write for young adults,though many adults enjoy my YA books, but I also write for adults as well as non-fiction, educational resources and passionate blog posts about the things that stir me up or move me in some way. I'm also addicted to Twitter (!) and you can find me at @MandyHager - you'll soon get a flavour for who I am from what I tweet!I'm deeply political - in fact, I think politics impacts on everything - and I'm all for sharing the wealth and supporting the people who are less fortunate. I believe in fairness, kindness, compassion, generosity - and you'll find my books tend to have a philosophical element and a solid basis in human rights.I like writing about 'outsiders' - whether culturally, emotionally or through misfortune. I worry that too many narratives only present a privileged white view. I've been lucky enough to win several awards for my books, as well as three Fellowships, including the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship in 2014, which enabled me to live in the south of France for 5 months to research for an historical novel set in 12th century France.In Sept 2014 I became a granny for the first time (and am loving it!) and my family is extremely important to me. I have two adult children, both of whom are wonderful human beings I'm very proud of. My daughter Rose drew the most amazing line drawings to introduce each chapter of my book 'Singing Home the Whale' - adding an extra special element.I began my working life as a primary school teacher, then moved into working one on one with children (and adults) with learning disabilities. I later went back to studying and gained my Master of Arts in Creative Writing, and I now teach novel writing for a degree programme in Wellington, New Zealand.I love New Zealand's landscapes and environment - and work hard to live as sustainably as possible. We have an acre of land with many fruits trees and huge mature trees - I feel very lucky to look out every window onto green.You can visit my blog at www.mandyhager.com or check out my Facebook author page