Dr Tessa Duder, of Auckland, CNZM for services to literature
Dr Tessa Duder is an author known for her award-winning ‘Alex’ books. She won the New Zealand Post Senior Fiction Award for ‘The Tiggie Tompson Show’, and her short story collection ‘Is She Still Alive?’ reached number two on the New Zealand bestseller list. She is a past President of the New Zealand Society of Authors. She helped establish what is now the Storylines Children’s Literature Foundation of New Zealand – Te Kaupapa o Te Korero. She is Awards Convenor for the Storylines Children’s Literature Foundation. She is a Trustee of the Storylines Children’s Literature Trust of New Zealand - Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa and former Trustee of the Spirit of Adventure Trust and the Operating Theatre Trust. Dr Duder co-edited ‘Re-Draft’, an annual anthology of writing by teenagers.