Introducing our 2019 Authors...
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Donovan BixleyDONOVAN is one of New Zealand's outstanding creative talents in both writing and illustrating.
He's the author/illustrator of award-winning books for children including everything from insights into Mozart and Shakespeare to the high-octane chapter series 'Flying Furballs' and the co-creator of Dinosaur Rescue with Kyle Mewburn. Donovan is a crowd favourite with children, parents, teachers and librarians and is easily recognised in one of his natty outfits, waistcoats or quirky hats. |
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Kitty Brown & Kirsten ParkinsonREO PEPI is Kiri and Kirsten's own initiative and creates simple, user-friendly bi-lingual books.
Through their own tamariki Kiri and Kirsten were inspired to create books that helps whanau to have te reo maori flourish in a home or education setting. Kiri and Kirsten are Otepoti/Dunedin locals who have taken their great idea and made it into something special. |
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Kimberly AndrewsKIMBERLY grew up in the Canadian Rockies, a special part of the world. She has worked in the Natural History Museum in London where one of her jobs even included vacuuming a stuffed giraffe!
She is the author/illustrator of Puffin the Architect and illustrator of The Song of the River, by Joy Cowley. Her favourite childhood book is Winter Story by Jill Barklem from which her recognition of the importance of small, detailed and secret spaces is captured in her work today. |
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Kate De GoldiKATE describes herself as a 'professional reader', something many of us would love to be! She writers for 'a particular type of reader' rather than any particular age, and as such has won acclaim from children and adults alike.
Books such as From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle, The 10pm Questions and the ACB with Honora Lee are now contemporary classics of New Zealand fiction alongside her picture books from the 'Clubs' series, illustrated by Jacqui Colley. Kate is a reviewer, well-known for her regular slot on Saturday Mornings with Kim Hill, and is an enthusiastic and supportive creative writing tutor. Enthusiastic and supportive also sum up her entire approach to the world of children's literature and reading. |
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Barbara ElseBARBARA is the author of Go Girl – A Storybook of Epic NZ Women, which shot right to the top of the bestsellers charts. It is a triumph of New Zealand publishing giving a voice, and more importantly, an audience to the exploits, accolades, adventures and successes of many generations of New Zealand women.
She has held the University of Otago College of Education/Creative New Zealand Children’s Writing Fellowship. She has also been awarded the Margaret Mahy Medal for services to children’s literature. Her novels for children include the Tales of Fontania Quartet starting with multiple award-winning The Travelling Restaurant and ending with The Knot Impossible. Harsu and the Werestoat is her latest children's novel. |
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Heather HaylockHEATHER, as a child, could often be found reading a book while sitting on her horse, or perched way up high in a tree.
She loves the challenge of knitting words into stories and is the author of Granny McFlitter the Champion Knitter, which was published in 2018 and shortlisted for the Best Picture Book category of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, with its follow up, Granny McFlitter - a country yarn published earlier this year. Both books are illustrated by Lael Chisholm. |
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Steph MatukuSTEPH is an award-winning writer from Taranaki.
She spent fifteen years in radio writing advertising copy before deciding to branch out and write pieces that were longer than thirty seconds. Her first children’s play, “A Story of Rona’ won a Playmarket award and has been performed by schools throughout New Zealand. Her script for the 2016 48 Hour Short Film Competition “A Bro’s Life” won the regional heats, going on to the National Finals. Steph won a place on the Maori Literature Trust’s writing incubator programme ‘He Papa Tupu’ with Huia Publishers, and was mentored by renowned novelist and playwright, Whiti Hereaka. The result is her debut YA novel, Flight of the Fantail. That year Huia also published her junior children's book Whetu Toa and the Magician. |
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Kyle MewburnKYLE is a full-time writer for children. She writes multi-layered picture books that are often laugh-out-loud funny and always linguistically inventive. Her titles have been published in over a dozen languages and won numerous awards including Book of the Year (Old hu-hu) and Children's Choice (Kiss!Kiss!Yuck!Yuck!; Melu and The House on the Hill).
She's also written a few bestselling junior fiction series including Dinosaur Rescue (with illustrator Donovan Bixley) and Dragon Knight. |
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James RussellJAMES is the author of the children's picture book trio The Dragon Hunters, The Dragon Tamers , and The Dragon Riders which are a self-publishing master-class. Off the back of their success is the Dragon Defenders series for children's fiction chapter books, now with their latest release.
The self-professed lover of dad jokes lives in Auckland. He's done an awesome range of jobs, everything from dental sales rep, chef, tree pruner, hay maker, house painter and dish washer. He knows the surf's great in Dunedin so we're hoping to hook him up with a wave or two when he's here! |
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Kelly WilsonKELLY relocated to Northland from Whangamata with her family at the age of five. Having grown up around horses, she competed in show jumping to Pony Grand Prix level, before focusing on her creative talents. She won a scholarship to Auckland University of Technology and graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Graphic Design, going on to become an award-winning photographer and designer.
She is the bestselling author of four biographical non-fiction books, For the Love of Horses, Stallion Challenges, Mustang Ride and Saving the Snowy Brumbies, a children's picture book Ranger the Kaimanawa Stallion and a junior chapter book series Showtym Adventures. With her sisters Vicki and Amanda, Kelly has starred in the hit-rating TV series, Keeping up with the Kaimanawas, following their work taming New Zealand's wild Kaimanawa horses, and travelled to America and Australia to rescue and tame wild horses. |
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Stacy GreggVisiting in conjunction with the Wild Imaginings Children's Writers & Illustrators Hui 2019, Stacy Gregg began writing fictional novels about horses for children. Starting with Mystic and the Midnight Ride (2007), the first in her Pony Club Secrets series. Stacy has since written a number of books in the successful Pony Club Secrets and Pony Club Rivals series. She is a three-time winner of the Children's Choice Junior Fiction category of the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for her novels: The Princess and the Foal (2014), The Island of Lost Horses (2015) and The Girl Who Rode the Wind (2016). Her latest book in the series is Prince of Ponies. She writes book with courage and resilience at their very core.
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