‘Extraordinary’ writer recognised

By Ōtepoti He Puna Auaha | Dunedin UNESCO City Of Literature | Posted: Friday Nov 07, 2025

Dunedin author Barbara Else has received a Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement.

‘Extraordinary’ writer recognised | Otago Daily Times Online News

An award-winning Dunedin author has received a Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement.

Writer, editor and playwright Barbara Else (MNZM) was recognised at an event in Wellington yesterday for her successful career writing fiction novels.

Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa chairman Kent Gardener said it was a celebration of Else’s body of work that was a result of years of application to the art and craft of writing.

"All the recipients have made sustained contributions to New Zealand literature and the sector and have been recognised internationally.

"They join a roll call of extraordinary writers who are part of our wider artistic and creative landscape."

Else, 78, had written 13 award-winning novels, six for adults and seven for children.

She has also written non-fiction, short stories and plays, a memoir, and works as an editor and literary consultant.

Her honours include an MNZM in 2005 for services to literature and the Margaret Mahy Medal in 2016 for lifetime achievement and services to children’s literature.

Else’s children’s quartet A Tales of Fontania won national and international awards including the Esther Glen Medal for best children’s novel in 2012, an IBBY Award and a White Raven Award.

Her non-fiction work for children, Go Girl: A Storybook of Epic NZ Women, broke local sales records and was a finalist for the 2019 NZ Post Children’s Book Awards.

She was instrumental in establishing the NZ Association of Manuscript Assessors and last year was the New Zealand Society of Authors president of honour.

Other recipients of the Prime Minister’s Award included non-fiction writer Ross Claman and poet Dinah Hawken.

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