Tessa Duder CNZM OBE (née Staveley, born 13 November 1940) is a New Zealand author of novels for young people, short stories, plays and non-fiction, and a former swimmer who won a silver medal for her country at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

In 2020 she received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in acknowledgement of her significant contributions to New Zealand fiction.

[5] At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Staveley won the silver medal in the 110 yards butterfly, recording a time of 1:14.4 in the final.

[6] She was also a member of the New Zealand women's 4 x 110 yards medley relay team, alongside Philippa Gould, Kay Sawyers, and Jennifer Hunter, that finished in fourth place.

The series won three New Zealand Children's Book of the Year awards and three Esther Glen medals.

[1] She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1994 New Year Honours, for services to literature,[11] and has been awarded the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal.

In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Duder was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature.