J L Williams

J L (Janine) Williams lives in Whangarei, Northland. She writes compelling historical New Zealand fiction about young people with dreams.

Her first book, Holding The Horse, was a Storylines NZ Notable book award winner in 2022 in the junior fiction category, and was a finalist for the NZ Book Awards or Children and Young Adults in the Best First Book category 2022. Reading age: 10 to 16.

Like The Wind, the sequel to Holding The Horse, is a Storylines NZ Notable book award winner in the junior fiction category 2023. Reading age: 12 to 18.

Janine donates $1 from the sale of each copy of Like The Wind to Riding for the Disabled Whangarei, in recognition of their work with people who are neurodiverse or struggling with social anxiety, as well as those with physical disabilities, because of the fact that Like The Wind deals with issues of trauma and presents horses as healers.

Janine likes to include group creative writing exercises as part of her classroom visits, getting groups or classes to think about how to make a story come alive to the reader using the five senses. She links her books to her family history with photographs and stories.