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Te Papa Tupu

A mentoring programme
for aspiring Māori writers

Te Papa Tupu is a highly contested writers incubator designed specifically for emerging Māori writers. Every two years, six writers are given the opportunity to be mentored by acclaimed authors and editors. Throughout the course of the programme, writers work with their mentors to develop their manuscripts for publication.

‘One of the most valuable gifts a writer can get is the attention of somebody who will approach their work with an understanding of their motivation and a respect for their particular voice, but also a critical eye, with the aim of helping them ultimately share their unique vision with the rest of the world … ’ Daisy Coles, Mentor – Class of 2010.

Writers receive a stipend, write, participate in workshops, write, attend writers’ festivals, write and become part of a broader writing community.

We encourage Te Papa Tupu writers to journal their experience on the writers incubator. Take the time to read these entries – the stories are courageous, insightful, bold, humbling and humorous.

Te Papa Tupu 2024

Finalists Announced

Me He Tē!

We are thrilled to announce the six kaituhi Māori who have been selected to take part in our renowned Te Papa Tupu Programme for 2024!

A huge congratulations to the Class of 2024 who will undertake the incubator programme, under the guidance of a mentor, to develop their manuscripts.

We look forward to sharing more as Te Papa Tupu 2024 gets underway, and we are very excited for all of our supporters to get to know this fantastic cohort of kaituhi Māori.

class of 2024

Meet the writers

Read their stories

Portrait shot of Steph Julian
Steph Julian

My words will not be ashes

Tell a writer to ‘write anything’ and they will stall. Anything is pretty big. When deciding what to talk about in this blog post, I asked myself what I would

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From left to right: Te Papa Tupu booklet, Toni in front of a black telephone booth, a knitting project, holding Stephen King novel
Toni Wi

First we need to dream

It took me ten years to learn how to knit. I started when my sister’s oldest girl was born. For some reason, partly me being a nana and partly a

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Headshot of Claire, wearing a green top with a grey background.
Claire Hiria Dunning

Koha / Wero

It has been, at time of writing, less than three weeks since Te Papa Tupu Workshop One. How is that possible? Borne aloft in the whirlwind of those two days,

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ALUMNI

View our past graduates