Listen: Nancy Wake comes to YA

21 May 2026 First published RNZ

The new young adult novel - A Flame in the Dark - follows the New Zealand-born Australian-raised World War 2 hero on her journey to Europe as a nurse and journalist turned secret agent. 

Maria Gill is the author of 62 books for children, including Anzac Heroes which won the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction and the Supreme Book of the Year prize in the 2016 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. 

In 2020 she was awarded the Margaret Mahy Medal for services to children's literature.

She joined Kathryn Ryan on RNZ's Nine to Noon program to discuss her first fiction book for young adults.