Swapna Haddow's debut series, Dave Pigeon (Faber & Faber), illustrated by Sheena Dempsey, follows the hilarious antics of two pigeons as they advise pigeonkind on how to survive in the world. The latest book is the series Dave Pigeon (Zombies!) is out in September 2024. While the world’s scariest, baddest and definitely-not-cutest panda is back for a third outing in Bad Panda: Mites, Camera, Action (Faber & Faber).

In 2024 Swapna has a brand new series coming out with illustrator Becka Moor featuring Reggie Rabbit (OUP), as well as Little Dinosaurs, Big Feelings (Magic Cat), a delightful collection of mindful stories. But Then... (Scholastic NZ, August 2024) is the delightfully far-fetched tall tale of why a library book is 293 days overdue, illustrated by Daron Parton.

Swapna lives in New Zealand with her karate-chopping, swash-buckling son and her thirty-something, age-sensitive husband.  She spends her time writing, eating cake and making sure her son doesn’t flatten her husband as he attempts to master his human cannonball trick. Sometimes she does all three at the same time.

Over 400,000 books Swapna Haddow books sold

Accolades for Dave Pigeon

• The Guardian's Best New Children’s Books 2016
• Sainsbury's Children's Book Award 2016 - shortlisted
• North Somerset Teachers' Book Award Read Aloud - winner
• The Independent's 11 Best Books for 4 to 11-Year-Olds
• Tom Fletcher Book Club 2018
• World Book Day 2023 - No 1 bestseller