When author and illustrator Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa) accepted our 2025 Honoured Writer invitation, he remarked that it was “a huge compliment not only for me but all the other writers for children in this country”.

This generosity of spirit to the wider children’s literary community and his multi-decade career spent entertaining, educating and enchanting generations of readers makes him a hugely deserving recipient, and sees him join the AWF Honoured Writer stable alongside fellow greats Witi Ihimaera, C.K. Stead, Patricia Grace, Joy Cowley, Fiona Kidman and Anne Salmond.

In his rich career he has published 70 books; written for television, stage and ballet; and been garlanded with the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal for lifetime achievement; Nga Tohu a Ta Kingi Ihaka/Sir Kingi Ihaka Award for a lifetime contribution to Māori Art and Culture; The Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement; an Order of New Zealand Merit for services to literature and nominated for the Hans Christian Anderson Award, the world’s highest award for children’s literature.

Miriama Kamo (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga) meets him.