Tessa Duder

Tessa Duder giving a talk in Devonport Library, Auckland, 2024. Tessa Duder (née Staveley, born 13 November 1940) is a New Zealand author of novels for young people, short stories, plays and non-fiction, and a former swimmer who won a silver medal for her country at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. As a writer, she is primarily known for her Alex quartet and long-term advocacy for New Zealand children's literature; the annual Storylines Tessa Duder Award for unpublished young adult fiction is named in her honour. As an editor, she has also published a number of anthologies.

In 2020 she received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in acknowledgement of her significant contributions to New Zealand fiction.

Early life and family Duder was born Tessa Staveley in Auckland on 13 November 1940, the daughter of Sir John Staveley, a doctor and pioneer of blood transfusion in New Zealand who was later knighted, and Elvira, Lady Staveley (née Wycherley), a cellist. Her great-grandparents were from Livorno, Italy. She has a younger brother, John and was educated at Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland, and went on to study at Auckland University College in 1958, later returning to the University of Auckland between 1982 and 1984.

The fictional boat Aratika in Duder's first novel Night Race to Kawau was based on her then-husband John's family yacht, the Archibald Logan designed keel cutter Spray II.

Swimming As a teenager, Staveley competed in the butterfly and medley swimming events, becoming a national record holder in both events during 1958–59. She won the New Zealand national 110 yards butterfly title in 1957 and 1958, and the national individual medley championship in 1957, 1958, and 1959.

At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Staveley won the silver medal in the 110 yards butterfly, recording a time of 1:14.4 in the final. She was also a member of the New Zealand women's 4 x 110 yards medley relay team, alongside Philippa Gould, Kay Sawyers, and Jennifer Hunter, that finished in fourth place.

Staveley was named New Zealand Swimmer of the Year in 1959.

Writing Duder began writing fiction in 1977. Her first novel Night Race to Kawau was published by Oxford University Press in 1982. Her most successful works are the Alex quartet of novels (Alex, Alex in Winter, Alessandra: Alex in Rome and Songs for Alex) which build upon her own childhood experiences by following a teenage competitive swimmer with Olympic ambitions. The series won three New Zealand Children's Book of the Year awards and three Esther Glen medals. Alex has been translated into five languages and was for many years Penguin New Zealand's best selling work of fiction. Alex was adapted into the 1993 film of the same name. The film premiere of Alex was attended by longtime friend and then Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard. Duder (far left) at a dinner hosted by Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, on 5 June 2015. Duder's later work includes plays, anthologies and biographies. The Tiggie Tompson Show won the 2000 New Zealand Post Senior Fiction Award for young adult fiction. Her first work for adults, a short story collection Is She Still Alive? reached number two on New Zealand bestseller lists in 2008. and has been awarded the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal. In recognition of her contribution to children's literature, Storylines established the Storylines Tessa Duder Award, awarded annually to an unpublished manuscript for young adult fiction. She is a trustee of the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust of New Zealand, and a former trustee of the Spirit of Adventure Trust which operates the tall ship Spirit of New Zealand. In 1991, she was the University of Waikato's first writer-in-residence. In 2003, she won the Katherine Mansfield fellowship to work for a year in Menton, France, and in 2007 she travelled to Antarctica under the Artists to Antarctica programme. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Waikato in 2009. In 2013, she participated in the first Tall Ships Regatta from Sydney to Auckland, sailing aboard Spirit of New Zealand for the eight-day race crossing from Sydney to Opua. Duder (right) with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, on 23 March 2021. In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Duder was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature She received the honour at Government House, Auckland from Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy in a private ceremony with her whānau.

In the same year she received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in fiction, receiving $60,000 in recognition of her significant contributions to New Zealand literature. In 2021, she received the award from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at a private ceremony held at Premier House alongside Sir Tīmoti Kāretu and Jenny Bornholdt.

In 2022, Duder was made President of Honour of the New Zealand Society of Authors, a post she held for two years.

She is the vice patron of the Spirit of Adventure Trust.

Duder lives on Auckland's North Shore. (1997)