David Elliot is an award-winning children’s illustrator and author. He has written and illustrated seven picture books, including the ‘Sydney penguin’ books and Pigtails the Pirate (winner of the 2003 NZ Post Children’s Picture Book Award).
He has illustrated for many other New Zealand children’s authors, including Jack Lasenby, Joy Cowley and Janet Frame. In 2009, he illustrated The Word Witch, by internationally acclaimed writer, Margaret Mahy; this won the Honour Award in the 2010 NZ Post Picture Book category. In 2010, he and Margaret again worked together, on The Moon and Farmer McPhee, which won the NZ Post Children’s Book of the Year Award for 2011, the same year David also received the inaugural Arts Foundation Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award.
In 2014 David was awarded the Margaret Mahy Award for lifetime contribution to Children’s literature in New Zealand.
Internationally, David has provided illustrations for Brian Jacques’ Redwall and Castaways series and also for U.S. authors, T.A. Barron and Jeffrey Kluger. More recently, he completed illustrations for John Flanagan’s bestselling Ranger’s Apprentice series. David’s picture book Henry’s Map published by Philomel Books (USA) was recently chosen by School Library Journal (USA) for its Best Books 2013 list.
David’s book Snark, Being a true history of the expedition that discovered the Snark and the Jabberwock…..and its tragic aftermath won both the Russell Clark Award for Illustration and the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award at the 2017 New Zealand Awards for Children and Young Adults. It was also awarded a White Raven by the International Youth Library in Munich and is New Zealand’s nomination for illustration in the 2018 IBBY Honour List.
Since 2008, the Ashburton Art Gallery has been curating and regularly exhibiting David’s work. His illustrations can also be viewed online: www.davidelliot.org
David lives in Port Chalmers, near Dunedin, with his wife Gillian, and Molly the dog. He has two adult daughters, Mhairi and Jess.
