David Elliot is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

illustrator and author, known internationally for his contributions to the ''

Redwall ''Redwall'' is a series of children's fantasy novels by British writer Brian Jacques, published from 1986 to 2011. It is also the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, as well as the name of the abbey featured in the book, ...

'' fantasy series by British author,

Brian Jacques James Brian Jacques (, as in "Jakes"; 15 June 1939 – 5 February 2011) was an English novelist known for his '' Redwall'' series of novels and '' Castaways of the Flying Dutchman'' series. He also completed two collections of short stories ent ...

Biography

Elliot was born in 1952 in

Ashburton, New Zealand Ashburton ( mi, Hakatere) is a large town in the Canterbury Region, on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The town is the seat of the Ashburton District. It is south west of Christchurch and is sometimes regarded as a satell ...

. He has a fine arts diploma in

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, from the University of Canterbury, in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, and is also a qualified school teacher. He lives in

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The origi ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

Publications

Elliot illustrated six ''

'' books, as well as the Mossflower Anniversary Edition (with full-page illustrations), all written by UK author Brian Jacques. He also illustrated the second and third volumes of Jacques' '' Castaways of the Flying Dutchman'' series and American author, T. A. Barron's ''Great Tree of Avalon'' series, beginning with '' Child of the Dark Prophecy''. Other international collaborations include providing illustrations for ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine editor

Jeffrey Kluger Jeffrey Kluger (born 1954) is a senior writer at ''Time'' magazine and author of nine books on various topics, such as ''The Narcissist Next Door'' (2014); ''Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio'' (2005); ''The Sibling Effect' ...

's first book for children, ''Nacky Patcher and the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats '' (2007), three books in the ''

Ranger's Apprentice ''Ranger's Apprentice'' is a series written by Australian author John Flanagan. The first novel in the series, ''The Ruins of Gorlan'', was released in Australia on 1 November 2004. The books were initially released in Australia and New Zeala ...

'' series, by John Flanagan (2011, 2014) and two books in the ''Nethergrim'' series, by Matthew Jobin (2014, 2017). Elliot also provided the map and interior illustration for Jonathan W. Stokes' book, ''Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas'' (2016). Elliot has written and illustrated eight picture books of his own, including ''Henry's Map'' which was chosen by the School Library Journal for its Best Books in 2013 and ''Pigtails the Pirate'' which won the Picturebook category of the

New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards began in 1982 as the New Zealand Governme ...

in 2003. Other New Zealand publications include illustrations for

Janet Frame Janet Paterson Frame (28 August 1924 – 29 January 2004) was a New Zealand author. She was internationally renowned for her work, which included novels, short stories, poetry, juvenile fiction, and an autobiography, and received numerous awar ...

's only book for children, ''Mona Minim and the Smell of the Sun'' and also ''The Smell of Powder'', a book on New Zealand

dueling A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and la ...

, by Dr. Donald Kerr, both published in 2006. Elliot has also illustrated for

Joy Cowley Cassia Joy Cowley (; born 7 August 1936) is a New Zealand author best known for her children's fiction, including the popular series of books Mrs. Wishy-Washy. Cowley started out writing novels for adults, and her first book, ''Nest in a Fal ...

, Jack Lasenby and other New Zealand writers, poets and short story writers. As a great admirer of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

Elliot also produced illustrations for ''

The Hunting of the Snark ''The Hunting of the Snark'', subtitled ''An Agony in 8 Fits'', is a poem by the English writer Lewis Carroll. It is typically categorised as a nonsense poem. Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eight por ...

'' (Private Press edition, with the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

, 2006). Elliot has also collaborated on two books with New Zealand's best loved children's writer and winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award,

Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...

, ''The Word Witch'' and ''The Moon and Farmer McPhee'', which won the award for the best children's book in the

in 2011. More recently, Elliot wrote and illustrated ''Snark: being a true history of the expedition that discovered the Snark and the Jabberwock…and its tragic aftermath'' (after Lewis Carroll), published by Otago University Press (2016). The book won Best Book and Best Illustrations in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2017. and also a

White Raven Award White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. His latest picture book is ''Oink'' (

Gecko Press Gecko Press is an independent publisher of children's books based in Wellington, New Zealand. The company was founded in 2005 by Julia Marshall, formerly of Appelberg Publishing Agency, winner of the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal 2021. Gecko ...

, 2018) and in 2019 he illustrated Tessa Duder's ''First Map: How James Cook Chartered Aotearoa New Zealand''.

Recent activities and awards

* 2011 Winner of the

New Zealand Post Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder W ...

- Best Children's Book (together with Margaret Mahy) for ''The Moon and Farmer McPhee'' * 2011 Inaugural Mallinson Rendel Award, to be awarded to New Zealand children's book illustrators every other year * 2012 IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Honour List 2012 for ''The Moon and Farmer McPhee'' * 2013

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

(USA) Best Books List for ''Henry's Map'' * 2014 IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Honour List for ''The Word Witch'' * 2014 Storylines Margaret Mahy Award. Award given annually for lifetime achievement in children's writing and illustration * 2017 Winner of

for ''Snark'' * 2017 Winner of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults - Margaret Mahy Book of the Year for ''Snark'' * 2017 Winner of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults - Russell Clark Award for Illustration for ''Snark''

References

External links

*
Arts Foundations of New Zealand WebsiteNew Zealand Book Council Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, David 1952 births Living people University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand artists People from Port Chalmers People from Ashburton, New Zealand New Zealand writers