Te Waka Taki Kōrero Announces 6 New Kaituhi Māori For Its Highly Sought-after, Biennial Mentorship Prog, Te Papa Tupu

Six new writers, including one kaituhi reo Māori, have been selected for the hotly contested Māori Literature Trust’s incubator programme, Te Papa Tupu.

For the next six months, each writer will work with a dedicated mentor to develop their chosen manuscripts; after which they will submit their final story for publication with Huia Publishers. The writers will receive a stipend, attend workshops, writers’ festivals and become members of a writing community.

The six writers are:

• Callum Knight (Te Hika o Papauma)
• Hinematioro Nohotima-Duncan (Tūhoe - Ngāti Koura, Te Aitanga ā-Māhaki - Whānau ā-Kai)
• J. Wiremu Kane (Ngāpuhi - Ngāti Toro, Ngāti Manu, Te Mahurehure)
• Jory Akuhata (Ngāti Uepohatu, Ngāti Porou)
• Ruth Pearson (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou)
• Sarai Kennerley (Ngāti Tahu, Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne ki Wairau)

Jacquie McRae, who graduated from the very first Te Papa Tupu programme in 2010, is a mentor herself, and now a judge of this year’s competition. Judging was no easy task, due to the sheer quality and number of works submitted this year.

“It was really difficult. There were some amazing, talented writers who unfortunately missed out. But that’s not because their writing wasn't good enough, it was because there were just so many excellent manuscripts in contention.”

Te Papa Tupu is a significant step on the Māori Literature Trust’s poutama, identifying new and emerging writers and supporting them through to publication and beyond. Many successful Māori writers have come through this programme, including Ockham award-winning Whiti Hereaka for her novel Kurangaituku, published by Huia Publishers.

"At the time I did Te Papa Tupu it was a huge boost for me as a writer,” says Whiti. “I thought, wow, my writing is good enough that someone will give me money for six months just to write.”

Whiti now inspires others to pursue their writing dreams, both as an author and as a long-standing mentor and judge for Te Papa Tupu.

“I’ve met young writers that read Bugs in their teens, who said that they’d never seen themselves this way before. They were also thinking of becoming writers because I did it, and I'm from where they're from,” says Whiti.

This is part of what makes Te Papa Tupu unique. Not only do writers receive mentoring, structural editing, and a stipend to allow them to write, but they also become a part of a much larger whakapapa, in which giving back to new writers coming through is as embedded invisibly in the programme as the awards and accolades are externally. This is unusual within the highly competitive literary world and illustrates the unique potential of kaupapa Māori-led initiatives to support the emergence of more Māori voices in the literary landscape of Aotearoa.

Shilo Kino, who published Pōrangi Boy after successfully completing Te Papa Tupu in 2018, credits the programme as giving her her first break as a writer.

“I owe it to Te Papa Tupu and the support of Huia Publishers that I am where I am now. My first book won Young Adult Book of The Year – which I would never have been able to do without Te Papa Tupu.”

Other successful kaituhi Māori who have come through Te Papa Tupu and gone on to publish books include Steph Matuku, Lauren Keenan, Ataria Sharman and Cassie Hart. Te Papa Tupu 2014 graduate, Shelly Burne-Field, has also been shortlisted for this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

Te Papa Tupu kicks off in Wellington on July 20th with a wānanga where the new writers will be introduced to their mentors and establish a plan for the next six months. Writers will have the opportunity to share their experiences through journals published online through the Māori Literature Trust | Te Waka Taki Kōrero website.

Robyn Bargh, Chair of the Māori Literature Trust | Te Waka Taki Kōrero, says she’s excited to see where this new cohort of kaituhi will emerge. “Māori writers have great stories to tell. Who knows, perhaps we’re looking at the next Ockham award winner?”

This programme would not be possible without the support of our founding Partners – Creative New Zealand and Huia Publishers. If you wish to join us in taking Māori voices to the world, head to our website: Māori Literature Trust | Support (mlt.org.nz)

Read the writer’s bios and a synopsis of their book on the Māori Literature Trust | Te Waka Taki Kōrero website: www.mlt.org.nz.

The Māori Literature Trust – Te Waka Taki Kōrero
‘E tuhi, mai i te ao Māori ki te ao whānui’ is the Trust’s moemoeā (vision) and translates to ‘Taking New Zealand literature with a strong Māori voice to the world’. Established in 2000, the Trust delivers programmes that promote and foster Māori literature and encourage Māori writers to stand tall and support each other to become a strong force in the literary community of Aotearoa.

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