Tessa Duder
Encyclopedia
Tessa Duder née Stavely is a New Zealand
swimming champion and author of novels for young people, short stories, plays and non-fiction. She is primarily known for her Alex quartet. As an editor, she has also published a number of anthologies.
, the daughter of a doctor. Her entire school career was spent at Diocesan School for Girls (Auckland)
. As a teenager she competed in the butterfly and medley stroke swimming, becoming the national butterfly and medley record holder (1958–59) and winning a silver medal for 110 yards butterfly at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. She was named New Zealand Swimmer of the Year in 1959.
After leaving school she worked as a journalist for the Auckland Star
, before travelling to Europe, working for the Daily Express
. She married John Duder in 1964 and following the birth of the first of her four daughters, she was a full-time mother for 7 years, much of it spent in Pakistan. She returned to Auckland in 1972, where she reentered the work force as a pianist.
Tessa Duder's later work has not been as successful although 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 No 2 on New Zealand best seller lists in 2008
Tessa Duder has performed in several of her own plays and acted in 11 episodes of the New Zealand soap Shortland Street
.
She is a past president of the NZ Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc). She has been awarded the OBE and the Margaret Mahy Medal.
As of 2009 she lives with her husband in Mission Bay
, Auckland
, New Zealand
.,
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
swimming champion and author of novels for young people, short stories, plays and non-fiction. She is primarily known for her Alex quartet. As an editor, she has also published a number of anthologies.
Early life
Tessa Staveley was born in 1940 in AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, the daughter of a doctor. Her entire school career was spent at Diocesan School for Girls (Auckland)
Diocesan School for Girls (Auckland)
Diocesan School for Girls is a private girls' school in Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand. It is consistently a top-achieving school nationally. The school is Anglican-based and was established in 1903. It caters to international students and has accommodation for 35 boarders at Innes House...
. As a teenager she competed in the butterfly and medley stroke swimming, becoming the national butterfly and medley record holder (1958–59) and winning a silver medal for 110 yards butterfly at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. She was named New Zealand Swimmer of the Year in 1959.
After leaving school she worked as a journalist for the Auckland Star
Auckland Star
The Auckland Star was an evening daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, from 24 March 1870 to 20 August 1991. Survived by its Sunday edition, the Sunday Star, part of its name endures in The Sunday Star-Times, created in the 1994 merger of the Dominion Sunday Times and the Sunday...
, before travelling to Europe, working for the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
. She married John Duder in 1964 and following the birth of the first of her four daughters, she was a full-time mother for 7 years, much of it spent in Pakistan. She returned to Auckland in 1972, where she reentered the work force as a pianist.
Writing
Tessa 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, which builds upon her own childhood experiences, by following a teenage competitive swimmer at Epsom Girls Grammar School;- (Alex, Alex in Winter, Alessandra: Alex in Rome and Songs for Alex). The series won three New Zealand Children's Book of the Year awards and three Esther Glen medals. Alex has been translated into 5 languages and is Penguin New Zealand's best selling work of fiction. A film production of Alex was released in 1993 but was commercially unsuccessful.Tessa Duder's later work has not been as successful although 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 No 2 on New Zealand best seller lists in 2008
Tessa Duder has performed in several of her own plays and acted in 11 episodes of the New Zealand soap Shortland Street
Shortland Street
Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera, first broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 25 May 1992. It is the country's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 4500 episodes and 19 years, and is one of the most watched television programs in...
.
She is a past president of the NZ Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc). She has been awarded the OBE and the Margaret Mahy Medal.
As of 2009 she lives with her husband in Mission Bay
Mission Bay
Mission Bay may refer to:Australia*the former name of Minjilang, Northern TerritoryNew Zealand*Mission Bay, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland...
, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.,