About 300 people gathered in Auckland on Saturday to celebrate the life of author Margaret Mahy, who died in Christchurch two weeks ago, aged 76.
Authors Tessa Duder and Tim Tipene were among those who paid tribute to Ms Mahy at the service which was hosted by the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust.
They told how she touched people's lives and excited imaginations.
Several of her stories and poems she had written as a child were performed, including A Lion In the Meadow, Ms Mahy's first published book.
Ms Mahy won many awards, including Britain's premier children's book award - the Carnegie Medal - twice and the Hans Christian Andersen Award - the world's top prize for children's literature given for a lifetime of achievement.
She was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand in 1993.
