\u201cEdinburgh 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\u2019re celebrated for being who you are.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe audiences really love it and it\u2019s such a buzz. It\u2019s like a big party and it\u2019s kind of amazing because it\u2019s situated within the festival month, so there\u2019s the Fringe Festival, the Arts Festival, and the Film Festival all going on at the same time \u2013 and the books part is enormous.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s just one part of many in this one quite small city, so there\u2019s a real intensity about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d she told Cowan.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you instil a love of reading in reluctant readers or in a classroom environment where there\u2019s just so little time? So we had a really interesting conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mabey\u2019s invitation to the Edinburgh International Book Festival comes after a positive response to The Raven\u2019s Eye Runaways, which earned her the accolade of Best First Book at the New Zealand Book Awards for children and young adults.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
The New Zealand Book Awards judges said in a shortlist brimming with \u201caccomplished and wonderfully self-assured debuts\u201d, the book stood out as \u201cthe work of a writer who wields words with exquisite care and understands the power of great storytelling\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mabey told Real Life the power of stories written for pre-teens is that they can be \u201cso much fun and tackle really big ideas through the lens of adventure and fast-paced storytelling\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really have to keep the kids turning your pages, and there\u2019s also just such a wide breadth of curiosities and literacy in kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I set out to write the book, I didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThankfully, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mabey says she has a strong belief in not underestimating children.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir capacity for going to the unknown and following characters into the unknown is very big, and kids crave going where adults don\u2019t,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat, 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 \u2013 and so that was important for me in my book.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Edinburgh, Mabey was in attendance for \u201cFrom Aotearoa to Alba\u201d \u2013 an event that brought together some of New Zealand and Scotland\u2019s finest writers for a literary exchange of sorts.<\/p>\n
She says it showcased the huge appetite overseas for New Zealand literature.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn recent years, that\u2019s 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,\u201d said Mabey.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecky [Manawatu\u2019s] 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I think there\u2019s a very strong presence across different forms of literature as well as novels, poetry, non-fiction\u2026 There\u2019s definitely New Zealand writing [that\u2019s] very visible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n