Claire Mabey

Author and Book Reviewer

Claire Mabey is a New Zealand writer and books editor at The Spinoff. She is the founder of Verb Wellington and LitCrawl Wellington, and has worked across the country’s arts and literary scenes for over 15 years. In 2020, she received a Ghost Light Award for her contribution to the Wellington arts community.

Her debut novel, The Raven’s Eye Runaways (Allen & Unwin, 2024), was shortlisted for the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults – Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award. A middle-grade adventure about the magic of books, friendship, and family secrets.

Claire lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington with her partner Andrew and son Charlie. She’s a regular book reviewer on RNZ, writes the Substack newsletter Domestic Animals, and is constantly grateful for the South Coast, the town belt, and the city’s wild weather.

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