Elizabeth Pulford

ABOUT

In Brief

Elizabeth Pulford is a children’s writer. She has also written fiction for teenagers and adults, and won several writing competitions. Her articles, stories and poetry for both adults and children have been published in newspapers, magazines and journals, and been broadcast on Radio New Zealand. Pulford has published numerous titles for young readers, and has won and been shortlisted for key awards. Elizabeth Pulford is available to talk to primary and intermediate students as part of the Writers in Schools programme.

In Detail

Elizabeth Pulford (born in 1943) is a children's writer. Born in Canada, she was raised and educated in Dunedin and now lives in Waikouaiti.

Her short stories for adults have won and been placed in some of New Zealand's most prestigious fiction competitions.

Since winning the Timaru Herald / Aoraki Short Story Award in 1990 she has won half a dozen competitions, including the Joan Faulkner Blake Short Story Competition, the Christchurch Star Short Story Competition and the South Island Writers Association Dame Ngaio Marsh Short Story Competition. She has been awarded the Christine Jefferson Award for the most outstanding writing for the year by the NZ Women's Writer Society, and been highly placed in numerous other local and national competitions.

A Junior novel, The Memory Tree (1996) was shortlisted for the 1997 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.

Her other titles for children are My Sister is Magic (1994); The Three-legged Race (1995); The Midnight Feast (1996); A Piece of Paper (1997); Nightmare (1997); Fuzz and the Glass Eye (1997); Cottle Street (1997); King Kong and the Flower Fairy (1999); Trailblazers (1999); Angel in the Attic (1999 - published by e-publisher); Jellylegs (2000); Call of the Cruins (2000); Arista and the Wagon (2000); and Pete Paints a Picture (2000). Many of Pulford's stories have also appeared in the School Journal.

Elizabeth Pulford's articles, stories and poems for both adults and children have been published in newspapers, magazines and journals, and been broadcast on National Radio.

Call of the Cruins (2000) was shortlisted in the Junior Fiction category of the 2001 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.

The Christmas...hiccup...Play was published in February 2003.

Castello Italiano (Penguin, 2004) describes the meeting of three women, best friends since childhood, who have not seen each other since a dramatic summer in Italy almost forty years ago.

Daisy Doll by Elizabeth Pulford and illustrated by Denise Durkin (Scholastic, 2004). Emily had a doll, called Daisy Doll. She was the sweetest doll in the whole wide world and Emily loved her more than anything. When her little sister, Penelope-Rose gets sick, Emily learns about sharing.

Can't Catch Me! was published in 2005 (Scholastic). When Alice loses her best friend Hannah, her world seems to stop until she goes to stay with her Great Auntie Fran, the wonderful kite-maker.

The Sunflower Tree was published in 2005 by Gilt Edge Publishing.

No Frills on Me, Gum and Disaster were published by Oxford in 2006. Three more books followed including, Mrs Begg's Beautiful Egg (Gilt Edge Publishing); Mr Potty's Plums (Gilt Edge Publishing); and I'm going to the moon (Gilt Edge Publishing).

Shut the Gate was published by Scholastic (2006). Mum, Sam and baby Sara set off for a walk one morning. It's not until they reach the top of the ridge that they realise Sam hasn't been shutting the gates at all!

Mr Potty's New Hedge (Gilt Edge Publishing) was published 2007 as well as Dr Neal's Squeaky Wheels (Gilt Edge Publishing), Stamp Boy (Gilt Edge Publishing) and Famous was published by Penguin (2007). It is a title in the Kiwi Bites series. She was awarded the 2007 Ohau House Writer’s Retreat residency.

In 2007, Pulford published Sea Dreamer (Random House), a young adult's novel; and Castlecliff and the Fossil Princess (Walker Books Australia NZ), a novel for intermediate readers. Waterworks and Tich were published in 2008 (Wendy Pye).

Blackthorn (2008) was realeased by Walker Books. Following the death of her father, a great Trahern warrior, Alyana is determined to stay true to her heart and follow in his footsteps. She flees the confines of her uncle's family to make a life for herself in her beloved forest. There, she becomes Blackthorn, the warrior. But life in the forest is tough - it's a struggle just to survive.

The sequel, Blackthorn's Betrayal, was published by Walker books in 2009. In Pulford's follow-up novel, Blackthorn faces higher stakes than ever to become a Trahern warrior. She embarks on a treacherous mission, travelling deep into enemy territory, but the mission takes a sinister twist- putting her dream at risk.

On a Rabbit Hunt (Scholastic, 2009) is a follow up to Shut the Gate, featuring a rogue rabbit on the loose! Castlecliff and the Fossil Princess was re-released in 2009 by Walker Books UK.