Dame Lynley Dodd

Dame Lynley Dodd is a New Zealand author and illustrator whose picture books are loved for their lively characters, exuberant illustrations and wonderfully rhythmic rhymes. After graduating from Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts and teaching art, she began illustrating children’s books, including Eve Sutton’s My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes. She went on to write and illustrate her own stories, beginning with The Nickle Nackle Tree. Her best-known books include the Hairy Maclary and Friends series.

Dodd’s work has earned recognition across a career spanning several decades. She received the Esther Glen Medal with Eve Sutton for My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes, and the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal for her contribution to children’s literature. In 2002 she was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to children’s literature and book illustration. Her later honours include an honorary doctorate from the University of Waikato and the University of Auckland’s Distinguished Alumni Award, both in 2009, and the 2024 Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement.