Storylines Children’s Literature Charitable Trust of New Zealand | Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa
Donovan Bixley was born in Perth, Australia, but shortly after, his family returned to New Zealand where he grew up in the geothermal wilds of Taupō. From a young age Donovan showed a talent for drawing and his unmatched skill at depicting trucks was a great way to get the school bully on side. Donovan’s first attempt at writing a book was a sequel to The Lord of the Rings, written when he was 8 years old.
After studying Graphic Design at AUT in Auckland, Donovan worked in the film industry as a storyboard and editorial illustrator. Since then he has illustrated more than 120 books, published in 31 countries. His work spans high-brow to low-brow and every brow in between, from his best-selling preschool books The Wheels on the Bus and Old MacDonald’s Farm, to his his internationally acclaimed biographies, Mozart the Man Behind the Music, and Much Ado About Shakespeare, which won the Russell Clark Award for best illustration at the 2016 NZCYA Book Awards. In 2021 Donovan was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to children’s literature.
Donovan’s real passion is for illustrated novels, where he gets to combine his love of words and pictures. In 2020 he completed six years’ work on his nine-part junior fiction series, ‘Flying Furballs’, which won the Tatoulu Children’s Choice Award in France. Donovan is currently immersed in the world of Leonardo da Vinci as he comes to the completion of 20 years’ work on an illustrated biography of the Renaissance genius. This body of work has seen Donovan receive the 2018 Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Laureate Award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation.
Donovan is an admiring fan of Neil Gaiman and Anthony Horowitz and counts The Lorax as his most loved picture book. Favourite artists include Norman Rockwell, Edgar Degas, John Howe, Dave McKean, Edmund Dulac, Bill Peet, Mordillo, Shawn Tan and Chris Riddell.
