The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa is delighted to announce that Tessa Duder CNZM OBE is the NZSA 2021-2022 President of Honour.  This prestigious honour is bestowed on a senior writer and long-serving NZSA member in recognition of their contribution to writing and writers and the literary arts sector in Aotearoa.

Of the award, Tessa says: ” To be selected as President of Honour of such an invaluable and successful collective as the New Zealand Society of Authors is a huge privilege. Thank you for this special honour, which carries with it whatever support I can offer to advance the interests of writers at all levels of commitment.”

Tessa Duder CNZM OBE has been a champion of the children’s and young adult writing community in Aotearoa for 40 years. Her work for the Storylines Children’s Literature Trust Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa, IBBY and as an NZSA past president is gratefully acknowledged, as well as her encouragement of all writers. Tessa has won the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement, the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, The Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal for services to children’s literature, and numerous awards for her books, in particular the ALEX quartet, which was made into a film, and is currently being scripted for television. This series was prescient in its feminist message for young women and has been an inspiration for thousands. It won her three New Zealand Children’s Book of the Year awards and three Esther Glen medals and was published in America, Britain, Australia, Spain, Denmark, The Netherlands, South Africa and Canada. Tessa was one of the Artists in Antarctica and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Waikato in 2008.

NZSA President Mandy Hager says “We’re enormously honoured that Tessa Duder has agreed to take on the role of President of Honour for 2021-2. Not only is she one of Aotearoa’s most beloved and skilled writers for children and adults, but she has also been untiring in her support of other writers, from her excellent work as President of NZSA to her roles in Storylines, IBBY, Writers in Schools, teaching creative writing, and judging (and sponsoring) book and short story awards. She has enriched the whole country with her presence.’

NZSA CEO Jenny Nagle says, “The NZSA is delighted to recognise Tessa Duder’s immense contribution to the writing world. We look forward to hearing her ‘state of the nation’ address about the literary sector in Aotearoa.”

Each year, The NZSA President of Honour delivers the prestigious annual NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Lecture – an event that comments on the literary sector. This year’s event will be held at Old Government House,  Auckland University, October 5.

Tessa Duder will be introduced by NZSA President Mandy Hager.

You are invited to hear
Tessa Duder as the 2021-2022 NZSA President of Honour
deliver the NZSA annual Janet Frame Memorial Lecture

Photo credit: Channel magazine