Gavin Bishop Profile

My aim as a New Zealand writer and illustrator for children has always been to tell the rest of the world who we are as a Pacific country. In New Zealand, we have a rich Maori and European heritage and I want my work to reflect that. Gavin Bishop

Profile

Gavin Bishop is a children’s writer of international, as well as local, reputation.

As a picture book author and artist, he has published 70 books that have been translated into twelve languages and won numerous awards. He has also written the libretti for two children’s ballets for the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

His distinctive ink and watercolour illustrations are a feature of stories that are sometimes traditional, sometimes original. Gavin, an award-winning children’s picture book writer and illustrator, lives and works in Christchurch, New Zealand. His work ranges from original stories to retelling of the Maori myths, European fairy tales and nursery rhymes

The Storylines Gavin Bishop Award was established in 2009 by the New Zealand Children’s Literature Foundation and Random House, New Zealand, to encourage the writing and publication of new and exciting high-quality picture books from local writers and artists. It recognises Gavin’s contribution to the writing and publication of children’s books. Emerging talent is given the opportunity to benefit from his expertise.

Gavin is widely travelled and has been a guest author and speaker, through UNESCO, in Japan, China, Indonesia and the USA. He was a guest lecturer at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1996.