David Elliot

David is an internationally recognised children’s writer and illustrator. He has won many national awards for his work, including Inaugural Winner of The Arts Foundation Mallinson Rendell Illustrators Award (2011) and the Storylines Margaret Mahy Award (2014). A selection of his books was also selected by IBBY for its Honour List in 2012 and 2014. He has provided illustrations for bestselling authors in the UK (most notably Brian Jacques’ Redwall series), the USA, and Australia. He is widely known for his detailed and informed depictions of animals, and his particular facility with maps.

David’s own writing has been translated into Chinese and Korean, and his picture books, Henry’s Map and Oink, have received starred reviews in Kirkus Magazine. In 2017, Snark won the Russell Clark Award for Illustration and the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year. More recently, David provided illustrations for Tessa Duder’s First Map: How James Cook Chartered Aotearoa New Zealand (2019). He is currently working on his first board book for the very young, dedicated to his much loved first grandchild.

David’s connection to Port Chalmers has strengthened in recent years. He designed the 23 metre Flying Humpback Whale mural which can be seen on Port Otago’s ‘A’ Shed. His work is also now available for purchase ‘beyond books’ (original art, prints and more) in The Flying Whale Gallery, owned and managed by his wife Gillian.

www.davidelliot.org 
www.flyingwhale.co 

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David Elliot at DWRF 2021:
Writing for Children​