New Zealand Writers
HEBLEY, Diane
By her superbly structured analysis of New Zealand's children's literature, Diane Hebley has established the benchmark for all future studies.
HEBLEY, Diane ( - ) is a children's writer and author of two major studies of New Zealand children's literature. Born in Hastings, her MA Hons in English and French was awarded by Auckland University in 1959, and she completed her PhD in English at the University of Waikato in 1994. Her doctoral thesis was the first in New Zealand to take children's literature as its subject.Hebley's titles for children, all illustrated by her husband Gary Hebley, are: A is for Albatross (1981); High on a Hilltop (1984); The Gully that Gabriel Found (1985); Jock Mackenzie and his Dog (1987); and The Ballad of Young Nick (1987).
As a scholar on the subject of children's literature, Hebley is the author of Off the Shelf:Twenty-one Years of New Zealand Books for Children (1980) and The Power of Place: Landscape in New Zealand's Children's Fiction 1970 - 1989 (1998). In the children's literature journal Magpies, Trevor Agnew writes: "By her superbly structured analysis of two key decades in the history of New Zealand's children's literature, Diane Hebley has established the benchmark for all future studies, both in scholarship and perception."
Diane Hebley works as a tutor in Written Communication at the Eastern Institute of Technology, and is the writer and course director of "The New Zealand Experience", part of the Christchurch College of Education's National Diploma of Children's Literature. With her husband Gary she was awarded the New Zealand Children's Literature Association's 1997 Award for Service.
(KC.)
Diane Hebley is available to talk to students of any age. She is prepared to discuss her experiences as a writer, writing techniques and the craft of writing and making picture books. She is able to run workshops for small groups. She is prepared to travel out of town for Writers in Schools visits.
Children’s Questions for Diane Hebley
Where do you live?
Taradale, Hawke's Bay, where good weather produces lots of fruit in our backyard and lots of excellent wines in the district.
What books do you read?
I read all sorts of books, fiction and non-fiction, written for adults and children. My husband Gary says the walls of bookshelves in our house help to keep the roof up.
Who is your favourite author?
I read too widely to have a favourite author, but currently I’m enjoying rereading Margaret Mahy’s and Joanna Orwin’s latest novels.
How do you think up your ideas?
Ideas come from what has happened to me or to my family, from something I chance to hear someone say or see someone do, from wondering about something I've read or heard or dreamed.
What’s the best thing about being an author?
I enjoy the creative challenge of finding the best possible way to express my ideas - to put other best words in the best order. Then, after all my hard work, there comes the joy of having a manuscript accepted and of eventually holding my published book or poem or article in my hands.
Special Questions for Primary School Students
What sort of pets do you have?
We have a sheltie dog called Jasper, now 14 years old.
What is your favourite colour?
I love blues, greens, pinks, reds, purples - not yellow.
What is your favourite food?
I love chocolate and whipped cream, brandy snaps, meats and salads and fruits.
Do you have favourite movies?
As with books, so with movies - I like many. I recently enjoyed Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Chocolat (of course).
What is the most fun thing about being an author?
The most fun thing is playing with words to improve what I want to say.
How do you make books?
I work on the text for a long time before Gary starts on the illustrations for a picture book. I write by hand first and then use my computer.
Where do you go for your holidays?
We go either to Auckland to be with our family and baby granddaughter, or to the Marlborough Sounds for relaxation, swimming, boating, reading, maybe writing - sun, sea, bush, peace and quiet, and no phone, no TV.
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
Too many things, but not very bad things. However, I once tried smoking a cigarette while I was sitting on the top of a macrocarpa hedge (very prickly!). The cigarette tasted so foul and loathsome that I’ve never since tried smoking again. Besides, I wanted to be fit and healthy to succeed in sports, especially swimming.
Special Questions for Secondary School Students
How did you get started?
I started writing for publication when my children were small, first for adults and then for children, in response to my growing need to express what I felt about my life here in New Zealand.
Who inspired you when you were getting started?
Other writers I admired, and my family.
What advice would you give an aspiring author?
Read ... read ... listen to other people talking about their lives ... read ...write ... write ... read ... write ... and live your life as widely as possible ...
Is it difficult to make a living writing in New Zealand?
Yes, unless you succeed in selling well overseas. You need to train for some sort of job to gain experience on which to build a writing life.
What were you like as a teenager?
Energetic, chatty, often outspoken and annoying and therefore in trouble with adults, but I liked being with family and a range of valued friends; mad on horses and sports, especially swimming and hockey; loved literature and music, foreign languages, history, geography, and maths (though I wasn't as good at maths); hated biology and dissection; detested lies and deceptions, cruelty and torture; thoroughly enjoyed my time at university and dreamed of doing something positive with my life.
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