Karen McMillan
Karen McMillan - Author | Literacy Champion | Speaker on - Creativity and Following Your Passion | Mental Wellbeing and Resilience
Karen McMillan is the author of 25 books, published in eleven countries, a mixture of bestselling fiction, inspiring non-fiction and children's books. Her fiction titles include the bestselling historical novels The Paris of the East, The Paris of the West, and Brushstrokes of Memory. Turbulent Threads is her latest novel, set in 1890s Dunedin, which has been optioned for a TV series adaptation. Her non-fiction has covered subjects ranging from facing cancer (Unbreakable Spirit, Everyday Strength) to love in Aotearoa, to battling eating disorders. She has also ghostwritten the World War II memoir, From the Blitz to the Burmese Jungle and Beyond.
She is also the author of the popular Elastic Island Adventure series for children, that are in early development to be made into a series of animated movies. Blong the Cat's Costume Caper is her first picture book for children, and she has created The Quokka Logic and Baking Book, which was the third-place winner in the Baking Category of the prestigious 29th Gourmand World Awards. She has also co-written Elemental Heroes, a new series that brings science to life in a fun and engaging way for children.
Karen was the resident book reviewer on The Cafe TV3 for two years, and she appears regularly in the media. She is the NZ Herald Books Editor. She is also enjoying doing the MORE FM Book Club with Nick Rado each week. She has been a speaker at many festivals and events, including Going West, Devonport Arts Festival, Tauranga Arts Festival, Hamilton Book Month, Brisbane Book Week, and Dunedin Writers Festival. She enjoyed the Robert Lord Writers Cottage Residency in Dunedin and has undertaken sponsored trips to Rarotonga and to Fiji to research her books.
Karen is the Director of NZ Booklovers, a hub for people who are passionate about books. She leads an enthusiastic team of reviewers, and she has also instigated the annual NZ Booklovers Awards, now in their eighth year, celebrating talented authors in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is a passionate advocate for the importance of literacy, and she believes that books inspire and enhance people's lives.
Karen has overcome anorexia, and she lost both of her parents to cancer when she was in her twenties. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 but is now grateful to be a survivor. Karen has gone on to follow her childhood dream of being a published author, as well as championing literacy and creativity with people of all ages.
She is an inspirational speaker who draws on the ups and downs of her life to help others. She is ideal for:
Health and wellbeing summits
Corporate conferences and team-building events
Youth empowerment and school programmes
Wellbeing and resilience workshops
Creativity workshops
Testimonials
"We were privileged to host Karen McMillan as part of the Tauranga Arts Festival, Schools Festival programme. The focus of the workshops was to take children through the writing process, and the development of characters for a story. She also allowed the children to dramatize an excerpt from one of her books, which the children loved. The feedback has been that the children were really engaged at all times. Karen has an amazing personality which children easily connect with, and I have no hesitation in recommending Karen and the work she does."
Festival Director - Jo Bond
"Karen is a fantastic presenter, full of enthusiasm. She had 200 Year 5 and 6 kids captivated for a whole hour and the kids were queuing up to get the whole Elastic Island Adventures series from the library afterwards. I had to buy extra copies of each book to cope with the demand, which is the best reaction I’ve ever had to an author visit! I would have Karen back again in a heartbeat."
Halswell School Library - Zac McCallum
