Children's literature in the latter half of the twentieth century saw a significant expansion of voices from outside the traditional Anglo-American publishing centers, with writers from smaller English-speaking nations finding international audiences for work rooted in their own landscapes and cultures. Margaret Mahy was one such writer, a New Zealander whose career placed her firmly within that broader shift.

Born on 21 March 1936 in Whakatāne, Mahy attended Whakatāne High School before going on to study at the University of Auckland and the University of Canterbury. She worked as a librarian alongside her writing life, producing children's fiction, novels, and screenplays in English. Among her books are The Haunting and The Changeover, two titles that drew significant attention over the course of her career.

Beyond those works, Mahy accumulated a substantial range of recognition. She received the Carnegie Medal, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Phoenix Award, the Esther Glen Award, and the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards. Her country honored her with the Order of New Zealand and the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction. The University of Canterbury and the University of Waikato each awarded her an honorary doctorate, the former being the institution where she had studied as a younger woman.

Mahy died on 23 July 2012 in Christchurch. Her reception across multiple award-giving bodies — spanning New Zealand, Britain, and international organizations — reflected the range of readers and critics who engaged with her work during her lifetime. Among the honors she received, the Order of New Zealand stands as one of the country's most formally significant distinctions, and it came to a writer who had spent her professional life working within libraries as well as producing fiction for younger readers.