Lloyd
Spencer Davis was born in Napier, New Zealand. He went to
universities in Wellington and Christchurch before
heading overseas to do his PhD at the University of
Alberta in Canada. In 1985, he moved to Dunedin, New
Zealand, and still calls it home. He is both a proponent
and practitioner of creative nonfiction writing and his
books to date are distinguished by the unique
perspectives he puts on them.
He is the author of Penguin: a season in the life of the Adélie penguin, for which he received the PEN (NZ) Best First Book Award for Nonfiction; The Plight of the Penguin, which was NZ Post's New Zealand Children's Book of the Year in 2002, as well as the winner of the nonfiction category at the same awards; and Looking for Darwin, for which he received a CLL Writer's Award – New Zealand's most significant award for the support of nonfiction. He also writes essays for magazines like Natural History and newspapers like the Star Sunday Times: his topics usually involve nature or science and his approach is often very personal.
His most recent book is the Smithsonian Q&A Penguins: a book commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution that provides a complete story on penguins in the form of questions and answers, which Davis has artfully arranged so that one answer typically leads to the next question – allowing the book to be read from cover to cover, rather like a novel, while still functioning as a reference book.
In addition to being a writer, Dr Lloyd Spencer Davis is also an award-winning scientist, photographer, filmmaker and university teacher. He currently holds the Stuart Chair in Science Communication at the University of Otago where, among other things, he teaches creative nonfiction writing.
He is the author of Penguin: a season in the life of the Adélie penguin, for which he received the PEN (NZ) Best First Book Award for Nonfiction; The Plight of the Penguin, which was NZ Post's New Zealand Children's Book of the Year in 2002, as well as the winner of the nonfiction category at the same awards; and Looking for Darwin, for which he received a CLL Writer's Award – New Zealand's most significant award for the support of nonfiction. He also writes essays for magazines like Natural History and newspapers like the Star Sunday Times: his topics usually involve nature or science and his approach is often very personal.
His most recent book is the Smithsonian Q&A Penguins: a book commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution that provides a complete story on penguins in the form of questions and answers, which Davis has artfully arranged so that one answer typically leads to the next question – allowing the book to be read from cover to cover, rather like a novel, while still functioning as a reference book.
In addition to being a writer, Dr Lloyd Spencer Davis is also an award-winning scientist, photographer, filmmaker and university teacher. He currently holds the Stuart Chair in Science Communication at the University of Otago where, among other things, he teaches creative nonfiction writing.