Author Spotlight Q&A: Shelley Burne-Field

Shelley Burne-Field (Sāmoa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Rārua, Pākehā) writes fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry. She comes from Te Matau-a-Māui | Hawke’s Bay and is an alum of the University of Auckland’s Master of Creative Writing, as well as the Te Papa Tupu mentoring programme. Her work has appeared in local and international literary journals and […]

Author Spotlight Q&A: Zeb Nicklin

He kaiako reo Māori ahau ka 18 ngā tau e mahi ana. Ko te reo Māori he wāhanga ōku e whai oranga ai au i te ao nei otiia, te tuhi pakiwaiatara he wāhanga ōku e whakaea nei i ōku hiahia, hei kai mā tōku ngākau. Koia hoki pea hei koha māku ki te ao […]

Author Spotlight Q&A: Airana Ngarewa

Born and raised in Pātea, Airana Ngarewa (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, Ngāruahine) is a teacher and writes about Māori affairs for The Spinoff. His writing has also been published by RNZ, NZ Herald, Newsroom and Landfall. He won the short story and poetry competitions at the Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards in 2022. The Bone […]

Author Spotlight Q&A: Brianne Te Paa

Brianne Te Paa is a Deputy Principal at Kaipara College. She has a Bachelor of Education and a Diploma in Te Pinakitanga ki Te Reo Kairangi. She is connected to the people of Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whātua, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki and Te Whānau-a-Apanui. Brianne is passionate about learning and working with young people, and she […]

Author Spotlight Q&A: Tīhema Baker

Tīhema Baker (Raukawa te Au ki te Tonga, Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, and Ngāti Toa Rangatira) is a writer and Tiriti o Waitangi-based policy advisor from Ōtaki. He has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, for which he wrote this novel.   Kia ora […]

Author Spotlight Q&A: Arihia Latham

Arihia Latham (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) is a writer, creative, māmā and rongoā practitioner. You will recognise her from literary festivals all over the motu, where she has performed her powerful poetry and chaired incredible events with a range of writers, from emerging to Aotearoa’s literary greats. A fierce kaitiaki of the taiao and […]

Author Spotlight Q&A: Jessica Hinerangi

Jessica Hinerangi Thompson Carr is of Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāruahine, Ngāpuhi and Pākehā descent. Born in Ōtepoti, she has a degree in English and art history with a masters in Māori ekphrastic poetry. She is a poet, journalist and illustrator, working primarily on Instagram under the name @maori_mermaid, with an incredible following. Her previous work has […]

Tayi Tibble: First Māori poet to be published in The New Yorker

Kia hiwa rā! A huge congratulations to Aotearoa’s literary darling, cool kid and all-round powerhouse, Tayi Tibble (Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngāti Porou) who has a new piece of work, ‘Creation Story’, published in this month’s edition of The New Yorker. This is a huge achievement and we cannot recall a Māori poet being featured […]

Author Spotlight Q&A: Ataria Sharman

Ataria Sharman (Tapuika, Ngāpuhi) is an editor and writer. Born and raised in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, she now lives in Hikurangi, Whangārei, Te Tai Tokerau. Ataria has a Master of Arts and spent a year researching mana wahine and atua wāhine and interviewing Māori women about their experiences with atua wāhine. The manuscript for her children’s […]