Author, literary advocate and founder of Verb Wellington, Claire Mabey.
Children’s author Claire Mabey usually eschews the spotlight in favour of helping other writers find an appreciative audience for their work.
As the Spinoff’s books editor and the founder of Verb Wellington, a literary organisation that organises events, festivals and opportunities for writers and readers, the main point is highlighting other authors.
But now Mabey is at the much sought-after Edinburgh International Book Festival – not as an organiser or reviewer, but as an author in her own right – after her debut novel The Raven’s Eye Runaways was met with an award and critical acclaim.
“It’s a really big honour, and very new for me!” she told Newstalk ZB’s Real Life with John Cowan on Sunday night.
“Edinburgh is such a rich programme of events from writers from all around the world and it celebrates voices from everywhere. No one has to try and be Scottish or fit in; you’re celebrated for being who you are.
“The audiences really love it and it’s such a buzz. It’s like a big party and it’s kind of amazing because it’s situated within the festival month, so there’s the Fringe Festival, the Arts Festival, and the Film Festival all going on at the same time – and the books part is enormous.
“But it’s just one part of many in this one quite small city, so there’s a real intensity about it.”
At this year’s festival, Mabey was invited to lead a workshop for kids and then participate in a conversation with Scottish playwright and poet Leyla Josephine about trying to hold on to a passion for reading and the imagination as a teacher.
“We talked to a lot of teachers about the obstacles they have at the moment in Scotland for trying to build creativity in the classroom. It sounds like a lot of pressures on teachers in Scotland are just the same as in New Zealand,” she told Cowan.
“How do you instil a love of reading in reluctant readers or in a classroom environment where there’s just so little time? So we had a really interesting conversation.”
Mabey’s invitation to the Edinburgh International Book Festival comes after a positive response to The Raven’s Eye Runaways, which earned her the accolade of Best First Book at the New Zealand Book Awards for children and young adults.
Written for 8 to 12-year-olds, the book follows three friends and a one-eyed raven who find themselves up against rulers who restrict the gifts of writing and reading to an elite few.
The New Zealand Book Awards judges said in a shortlist brimming with “accomplished and wonderfully self-assured debuts”, the book stood out as “the work of a writer who wields words with exquisite care and understands the power of great storytelling”.
Mabey told Real Life the power of stories written for pre-teens is that they can be “so much fun and tackle really big ideas through the lens of adventure and fast-paced storytelling”.
“You really have to keep the kids turning your pages, and there’s also just such a wide breadth of curiosities and literacy in kids,” she said.
“When I set out to write the book, I didn’t even know I was going to write a book for children. I just started writing and realised the characters were about 11 or 12, and so I had to go there in my brain.
“Thankfully, I find it quite easy to go back to my 12-year-old self; I was a big reader then, and I craved adventure and to know more about the world so I could go there in my brain, and I read a lot of books for that age group to try to understand pacing in particular.”
Mabey says she has a strong belief in not underestimating children.
“Their capacity for going to the unknown and following characters into the unknown is very big, and kids crave going where adults don’t,” she said.
“That, for me, is a major thing. When I was a kid, I always wanted to not have adults around, so I could find out the world for myself – and so that was important for me in my book.”
In Edinburgh, Mabey was in attendance for “From Aotearoa to Alba” – an event that brought together some of New Zealand and Scotland’s finest writers for a literary exchange of sorts.
She says it showcased the huge appetite overseas for New Zealand literature.
“In recent years, that’s really come to fruition for some writers; [New Zealand author] Catherine Chidgey, for example, this year her The Book of Guilt was published in the UK and has had a really very warm and visible reception, lots of reviews,” said Mabey.
“Becky [Manawatu’s] book was published over there and was proudly displayed in the Waterstones bookshop, which is always a buzz. Also Nina Mingya-Powles, who lives in London but is from Aotearoa, was in the festival as well and I met several people who had come just to see her. Her work is really loved.
“So I think there’s a very strong presence across different forms of literature as well as novels, poetry, non-fiction… There’s definitely New Zealand writing [that’s] very visible.”
Real Life is a weekly interview show where John Cowan speaks with prominent guests about their life, upbringing, and the way they see the world. Tune in Sundays from 7.30pm on Newstalk ZB or listen to the latest full interview here.
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