Tessa Duder facts for kids
.jpg)
Duder in 2015
|
||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Tessa Staveley | |||||||||||||
| Born | 13 November 1940 Auckland, New Zealand |
|||||||||||||
| Education | Diocesan School for Girls | |||||||||||||
| Occupation | Writer | |||||||||||||
| Years active | 1979–present | |||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) |
John Nelson Duder
(m. 1964–1994)Barry Thompson
(m. 2001–2012) |
|||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||
| Country | New Zealand | |||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||
| National finals | 110 yd butterfly champion (1958, 1959) Individual medley champion (1957, 1958, 1959) |
|||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||
Tessa Duder is a famous New Zealand author. She writes novels, short stories, and plays, especially for young people. Before becoming a writer, she was a talented swimmer. She even won a silver medal for New Zealand at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
Tessa Duder is best known for her series of books called the Alex quartet. She has also worked hard to support and promote children's literature in New Zealand. In 2020, she received a special award from the Prime Minister for her amazing contributions to New Zealand fiction.
Early Life and Family Background
Tessa Duder was born Tessa Staveley in Auckland, New Zealand, on November 13, 1940. Her father, John Staveley, was a doctor who helped start blood transfusions in New Zealand. Her mother, Elvira Staveley, was a cellist, which is someone who plays the cello.
Tessa went to the Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland. After school, she studied at Auckland University College. She later returned to the University of Auckland to continue her studies.
Before becoming a writer, Tessa worked as a journalist. She wrote for the Auckland Star newspaper from 1959 to 1964. Then, she traveled to Europe and worked for the Daily Express newspaper in London. In 1964, she married John Duder. They had four daughters together. For some years, she stayed home to raise her children. She returned to Auckland in 1972 and worked as a pianist.
Swimming Achievements
As a teenager, Tessa Staveley was a very good swimmer. She specialized in butterfly and medley events. She even set national records in these events in 1958 and 1959.
She won the New Zealand national championship for the 110 yards butterfly race in 1957 and 1958. She also won the national individual medley championship three times: in 1957, 1958, and 1959.
In 1958, Tessa competed at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff. She won a silver medal in the 110 yards butterfly event. Her time in the final was 1 minute and 14.4 seconds. She was also part of the New Zealand women's relay team. This team finished in fourth place in the 4 x 110 yards medley relay.
Because of her great swimming, Tessa Staveley was named New Zealand Swimmer of the Year in 1959.
Writing Career
Tessa Duder started writing stories in 1977. Her first novel, Night Race to Kawau, was published in 1982. Her most popular books are the Alex quartet. These books are about a teenage swimmer who dreams of competing in the Olympic Games. Tessa used her own experiences as a swimmer to write these stories.
The Alex series includes Alex, Alex in Winter, Alessandra: Alex in Rome, and Songs for Alex. These books won many awards, including three New Zealand Children's Book of the Year awards. The book Alex was so popular that it was translated into five languages. It was also made into a movie in 1993.
Tessa Duder has written many different types of works. These include plays, collections of stories by different authors, and biographies. Her book The Tiggie Tompson Show won an award in 2000 for young adult fiction. She also wrote a collection of short stories for adults called Is She Still Alive?, which was very popular.
Tessa Duder has held important roles in the writing community. She was once the president of the NZ Society of Authors. In 1990, she received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. She was also honored with the Officer of the Order of the British Empire award in 1994 for her services to literature. She has received the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal, another important award for children's literature.
She helps run the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust of New Zealand. She also used to be a trustee for the Spirit of Adventure Trust, which operates the tall ship Spirit of New Zealand. In 1991, she was the first writer-in-residence at the University of Waikato. In 2003, she won a special fellowship to work in France for a year. In 2007, she traveled to Antarctica as part of a program for artists. The University of Waikato gave her an honorary doctorate degree in 2009. In 2013, she sailed on the Spirit of New Zealand in a tall ships race from Sydney to Auckland.
In 2020, Tessa Duder received another high honor. She was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contributions to literature. In the same year, she received the prestigious Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. This award recognized her significant impact on New Zealand literature.
Tessa Duder currently lives on Auckland's North Shore.
