Born in Christchurch, he has been a graphic artist, radio broadcaster, cartoonist, motivational speaker, art teacher, preacher, mural painter, creative director and creator of the Dynamite Bay Clubs NZ. In 2000 he embarked on a journey as a full-time author and storyteller, traveling the length and breadth of the country and sharing his stories and art. He is now considered one of New Zealand’s master storytellers. His books (20 at last count) are much loved by children and praised for their, ' crackling prose’, ‘rip-roaring adventure’ and ‘spellbinding narrative’. 'In the manner of J.K. Rowling, or Charles Dickens a century earlier, or the Grimm Brothers a century before that New Zealand writer Stu Duval has invented a hero ...vivid and believable.' The Delta (Canada) Stu writes, paints, and resides in Whangaparaoa, Hibiscus Coast, north of Auckland NZ.