Made the shortlist!

When positive role models inspire (breathe life into) the next generation it’s always powerful. Janine Williams and her husband Charles are amazing – you can see their murals and sculpture all over NZ and in NY, France, China and the Pacific too. Janine is Ōtara-raised and shared wisdom with young writers at her old school,…

  Today I had an amazing experience at Kelston Boys High School in Auckland. I was asked to speak to two classes of year 13 boys about the awesomeness of reading. I started with my pepeha – “Tuhituhia te kite, kia marama rawa ki nga papa …” and I saw one of the boys sit…

When I grew up in Māngere we weren’t taught the stories of the people who lived here before anyone else – the Waiohua iwi. We thought Māngere just meant “lazy” and it had a negative association. It wasn’t until recently that I learned the full name of the whenua we lived on is Ngā Hau…

Today I was blessed to interview Dr Karlina Tongotea who is not only a doctor but a world champion power lifter! Lina is South Auckland- raised and comes from Māori (Ngāpuhi and Ngāi Tahu) and Tongan heritage. It was so inspiring to hear her stories and I can’t wait to share them in a new…

Today we celebrated Tuvalu Independence Day with the launch of 8 new bilingual Tuvaluan children’s books. The books represent each island in Tuvalu and are written by 8 Tuvaluan young women. As well as the writers the team that made these books is Sagaa Malua (project paramount chief), Alamai Sioni (cultural advisor), Chad Robertson (illustrator),…

Today we launched a new book called Hood Heroes, written and illustrated by children at Flat Bush School, Ōtara. It’s such a beautiful feeling when you see the pride of the children knowing they’re achieving the dreams their families have for them. You can take a look inside the book and buy a copy here…