Discover the story of New Zealand through this multiple-award-winning, richly illustrated visual history by Gavin Bishop.
Gavin Bishop is a highly acclaimed children's book author and
illustrator of more than 60 books, whose work ranges from original
stories to retellings of Maori myths, European fairy stories, and
nursery rhymes.
Born in Invercargill, he spent his childhood in the remote railway
settlement of Kingston on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. Studying
under Russell Clark and Rudi Gopas, Gavin graduated from the
Canterbury University School of Fine Arts with an honours degree in
painting. He taught art at Linwood High School and at Christ's
College in Christchurch.
Among the numerous fellowships and national book prizes that have
been awarded to Gavin throughout his career, highlights are his Te
Waka Toi Nga Tohu a Ta Kingi Ihaka/Sir Kingi Ihaka Award in 2018,
recognising his lifetime contribution to strengthening Maori art
and culture through his children's books; The Arts Foundation's
Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award in 2013; and the 2000
Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal for lifetime achievement and his
distinguished contribution to children's literature in New Zealand.
Gavin was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in
2013, and President of Honour of the NZ Society of Authors.
In 2018, his book Aotearoa- The New Zealand Story won the supreme
Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award and the Elsie Locke Award for
Non-fiction at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young
Adults. The judges praised it as being 'masterful in its execution
- a work of art that bears repeated and thoughtful viewing and
reading of its vibrant and informative illustrations. It is also a
book of enduring significance in the canon of New Zealand
children's literature - a landmark title which will stand the test
of time.' That same year, Aotearoa won a Storylines Notable
Non-Fiction Award and Best Children's Book at the PANZ Design
Awards.
In 2003 Weaving Earth and Sky won the non-fiction section and the
Book of the Year Award of the NZ Post Children's Book Awards and
was shortlisted for the LIANZA Elsie Locke Medal. Gavin has won the
LIANZA Russell Clark Medal for Illustration four times- Mrs McGinty
and the Bizarre Plant (1981); Kiwi Moon (2006); Rats! (2008); and
There was a Crooked Man (2010). The judges of the 2006 Russell
Clark Award said, 'Kiwi Moon has all the appeal and promise of a
future folktale classic. It is an outstanding example of how text
and illustrations can be interwoven to produce a marvellous
whole.'
Among his successful partnerships has been that with writer Joy
Cowley, with whom he won the Best in Junior Fiction and Book of the
Year at the 2008 NZ Post Children's Book Awards for Friends- Snake
and Lizard.
Other award-winning titles include- Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre
Plant (Russell Clark Medal 1981); The Year of the Yelvertons
(illustrator; the 1981 Esther Glen Medal); Mr Fox (Noma Concours
1984 Grand Prize); Hinepau (New Zealand Picture Book of the Year
1993); The House that Jack Built (Book of the Year and Best Picture
Book at the 2000 NZ Post Book Awards); Friends- Snake and Lizard
(with Joy Cowley, Children's Choice Junior Fiction, 2010 NZ Post
Children's Book Awards); and Mister Whistler (written by Margaret
Mahy, winning Best Picture Book at the 2013 NZ Post Children's Book
Awards).
Books that have been shortlisted for the NZ Post Children's Book
Awards include- Stay Awake, Bear! in 2000; Tom Thumb in 2001
(picture book category); Taming the Sun in 2005 (also a finalist
for the Russell Clark Award in 2005); Riding the Waves in 2007;
Rats! in 2008; Piano Rock in 2009 (which won the 2009 PANZ Book
Design Award in the children's category); and Cowshed Christmas in
2010.
Many of Gavin's works have been listed as Storylines Notable Books,
most recently Aotearoa- The New Zealand Story in 2018; also Tom
Thumb (2002); The Three Billy Goats Gruff (2004); Taming the Sun-
Four Maori Myths (2005); Kiwi Moon (2006); The Waka (2006); Te Waka
(2006); Riding the Waves- Four Maori Myths (2007); Snake & Lizard
(2008); Rats! (2008); Piano Rock- A 1950s Childhood (2009); There
Was a Crooked Man (2010); Cowshed Christmas (2010); Friends- Snake
& Lizard (2010); Counting the Stars- Four Maori Myths (2010); and
Teddy One Eye- The Autobiography of a Teddy Bear (2015).
Gavin's artwork has featured in exhibitions internationally,
including Japan and Czechoslovakia. He has written and designed two
ballets for the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company- Terrible Tom and
Te Maia and the Sea Devil. In 2003 he shared the Ursula Bethell
Residency with Catherine Chidgey.
The Storylines Gavin Bishop Award for Picture Book Illustration was
established in 2009 to encourage emergent illustrators and to
acknowledge Gavin's contribution to the writing and illustrating of
children's picture books.
Gavin lives and works in Christchurch, New Zealand. See more about
him and his work at www.gavinbishop.com.
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