Swapna Haddow
Location: Dunedin
Preferred audience: Years 0-6
Swapna Haddow loves to write about boisterous animals that cause mayhem and is working hard to make sure mean cats, big-hearted little rabbits and worried dinosaurs find their place on the bookshelves.
Friendship and humour are always at the heart of what she loves to write. To date, she has sold over half a million books around the world and has been translated into twenty-nine languages.
Dave Pigeon was also shortlisted for the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2016, the Leicester Libraries Our Best Book Award 2017 and the Sheffield Children’s Book Award 2017.
Bad Panda, the first book in the Bad Panda series, was longlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2022 and shortlisted for the Alligator’s Mouth Award 2022. And the second book in the series, Bad Panda: The Cake Escape was shortlisted for the Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2024.
Swapna's first picture book My Dad is a Grizzly Bear, illustrated by Dapo Adeola, won the Woke Babies Picturebook of the Year Award 2022.
In 2025, Little Dinosaurs, Big Feelings, illustrated by Yiting Lee, was the Queen’s Knickers Award Runner-up and shortlisted for The Week Junior Children’s Book of the Year Awards.
In 2022, Swapna was the University of Otago College of Education Creative New Zealand Children’s Writer in Residence.
Swapna lives in Dunedin with her husband and son, and their dog, Archie. When she’s not writing she is usually reading, dreaming about living on a boat or eating Jaffa Cakes.
Swapna also writes children's books for Oxford University Press, under the pseudonym ‘Swapna Reddy’.
Website: www.swapnahaddow.co.uk
Events:
Swapna offers creative and flexible workshops online and in person, designed to inspire children by demystifying the writing process, showing them how much fun creating stories and characters can be. Her workshops are aimed at primary school aged children and there is flexibility in content and length to fit the ages of the pupils and the requirements of the event.
Based on characters from her picturebooks and chapter book series, Swapna facilitates story-planning and character-creation workshops, highlighting the importance of imagination and creativity. Children go on to develop ideas with an emphasis on creating fun characters, working collaboratively, creating story plans from beginning to end and understanding the importance of an original voice.
Little Dinosaurs, Big Questions (Magic Cat, 2025)
The Night Before Holi (Scholastic UK, 2025)
The Bulbul and the Cotton Tree (Oxford University Press, 2025)
Bad Panda: For Sale (Faber & Faber, 2025)
Reggie Rabbit: Robbery at the Masqued Ball (Oxford University Press, 2025)
How to Save Your Granny from a Runaway Train (HarperCollins, 2025)
Why Not? (Scholastic NZ/Australia, 2025)
Little Myths: Rama and Sita (Hachette, 2025)
The Terrible Trio: The (not so) Superheroes (Scholastic, 2025)
Dave Pigeon (Turkey Day!) (Faber & Faber, 2025)
The Night Before Diwali (Scholastic UK, 2025)
Little Dinosaurs, Big Feelings (Magic Cat, 2024)
Bad Panda: Mites, Camera, Action! (Faber & Faber, 2024)
Reggie Rabbit: The Great Carrot Heist (Oxford University Press, 2024)
Reggie Rabbit: The Ghost of Seagull Rock (Oxford University Press, 2024)
But Then… (Scholastic NZ/Australia, 2024)
Dave Pigeon (Zombies!) (Faber & Faber, 2024)
The Firebird (Ladybird, 2024)
Dave Pigeon (Bookshop Mayhem!) for World Book Day 2023 (Faber & Faber, 2023)
Dave Pigeon (Kittens!) (Faber & Faber, 2023)
Peter and Jane: Clean Our Park (Ladybird, 2023)
Peter and Jane: The Big Wedding (Ladybird, 2023)
Peter and Jane: The Street Party (Ladybird, 2023)
My Mum is a Lioness (Pan Macmillan, 2022)
Bad Panda: The Cake Escape (Faber & Faber, 2022)
Ballet Bunnies: Trixie is Missing (Oxford University Press, 2022)
Ishi on the Waves (Oxford University Press, 2022)
My Dad is a Grizzly Bear (Pan Macmillan, 2021)
Bad Panda (Faber & Faber, 2021)
Ballet Bunnies: The Lost Slipper (Oxford University Press, 2021)
Ballet Bunnies: The Big Audition (Oxford University Press, 2021)
All About Diwali: Things to Make and Do (Scholastic UK, 2021)
Super Dogs (Collins Big Cat, 2021)
My Gran is a Fibber (Collins Big Cat, 2021)
Ballet Bunnies: The New Class (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Ballet Bunnies: Let’s Dance (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Ballet Bunnies: Millie’s Birthday (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Cooking for Mum (Oxford University Press, 2020)
King Cat (Pearson, 2020)
Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) (Faber & Faber, 2019)
Little Rabbit’s Big Surprise (Stripes Publishing, 2019)
Published: Dave Pigeon (Racer!) (Faber & Faber, 2018)
Dave Pigeon (Nuggets!) (Faber & Faber, 2017)
Dave Pigeon (Faber & Faber, 2016)
Awards:
Winner: The Greenhouse Funny Prize 2014 for Dave Pigeon
Winner: North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award Read Aloud Category 2016 for Dave Pigeon
Winner: Surrey Libraries Children’s Book Award 2017 for Dave Pigeon
Winner: Fantastic Book Awards 2018 for Dave Pigeon
Winner: Woke Babies Picture Book of the Year Award 2022 for My Dad is a Grizzly Bear
Winner: Coventry Inspiration Book Awards Telling Tales Category 2023 for Bad Panda
Runner-up: Society of Authors Queen's Knickers Award 2025 for Little Dinosaurs, Big Questions
Shortlisted: Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2016 for Dave Pigeon
Shortlisted: Leicester Libraries Our Best Book Awards 2017 for Dave Pigeon
Shortlisted: Sheffield Children’s Book Awards 2017 for Dave Pigeon
Shortlisted: SCBWI Crystal Kite Award 2018 for Dave Pigeon (Nuggets!)
Shortlisted: The Alligator’s Mouth Award 2019 for Dave Pigeon (Racer!)
Shortlisted: The Laugh Out Loud Awards 2024 for Bad Panda: The Cake Escape
Shortlisted: The Week Junior Children's Book of the Year (Wellbeing) 2025 for Little Dinosaurs, Big Questions
Longlisted: The Blue Peter Book Award 2022 for Bad Panda
Longlisted: The Jhalak Children's and YA Prize 2025 for Little Dinosaurs, Big Questions
Highly Commended: The Historical Association Young Quills Award 2022 for Torn Apart
Highly Commended: Storylines Notable Book Awards 2022 for Torn Apart
Runner up: New Zealand Society of Authors Heritage Book Awards 2022 for Torn Apart
Dave Pigeon selected for the Tom Fletcher Book Club Two 2018