Lotta Dann

Carlotta Brigid Dann is a New Zealand journalist, author and addiction services advocate. In 2023 Dann was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to addiction advocacy.

Academic career

Dann grew up in Christchurch, and was the second of four girls. Her father is KC Chris McVeigh . She also has a postgraduate degree in counselling.

Dann is married to political editor Corin Dann, and the couple have three children. She had been drinking since she was 15, and by that time says she had been a functioning alcoholic for 24 years. After several years sober, Dann published a memoir, also named Mrs D is Going Without. Dann partnered with agencies including the New Zealand Drug Foundation, Te Hiringa Hauora Health Promotion Agency and Matua Raki to create Living Sober, an online community to support New Zealanders living with alcohol addiction.

Dann has also published on the emotional recovery after becoming sober (Mrs D is Going Within, 2017), and on the ways the alcohol industry targets women (The Wine O'Clock Myth, 2020).

Honours and awards In the 2023 New Year Honours Dann was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to addiction advocacy.

Selected works