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‘What’s the name of the book we’ve been reading all term, Jonah?’ Empty stare. ‘How about I give you a clue? It starts with the letter “T”.’ Shrug. ‘How about you just give me any word that starts with the letter “T”? Can you do that, Jonah?’ Silence. ‘Do you even know what the letter…

Honoured and proud to present a workshop with these awesome Kiwi authors – Maria Gill, Cath Mayo and Raymond Huber – at Bucklands Beach Intermediate yesterday. It feels like I’m getting closer to my dream of being a fulltime writer! Doing some of the things that writers do, like hanging out with writers … . Visiting…

Exploration has always been an important aspect of the arts and recently I’ve seen some awesome theatre in Auckland that has artists mixing different styles together. It’s inspiring because I know how brave these artists are to explore new mixes and ways of telling stories. “Hoki Mai Tama Ma” – written by Tainui Tukiwaho mixes Maori theatre, kapa…

I was inspired by watching Waka Huia on TV1 on Sunday. It was the first time I learned the importance of the eyes when women do the haka. Te Ataarangi taught us that the eyes represent defiance against oppression. She actually called it the “Dance of Defiance”. The spirit is saying “Is that so?” through…

Stepped out of a comfort zone on Saturday when I got to share a reading from my book We Are the Rock with families at the Auckland Art Gallery last Saturday. I’m used to working with Maori and Pasifika teenagers – that’s a comfort zone for me. Really different to work with Asian and European parents and…

Sad to hear that Maya Angelou has passed away at the age of 86. Maya had a harsh childhood of abuse, poverty and segregation. But she overcame all that and became one of the great writers of the last 70 years. She wrote poetry, novels, non fiction, plays and music. Amazingly she was working on…

Had an awesome time on Thursday, invited by Mangere East Library to come  for an “author visit”. Always love encouraging young people and their families with their reading, letting them know reading can be fun and interesting. Much love and respect to all the librarians, teachers and family members trying their best to inspire young people. Humble, unknown…

I was interviewed on Newstalk ZB this morning. The topic was ‘boys and reading’. Leighton Smith wanted to know if boys are put off reading because there are too many females in publishing, writing and awards panels! Glad I didn’t take that bite man! I think the reason many boys are put off reading is just…

Hi everyone, here’s a newspaper article about my new book for teenagers – Off Loading with Sonny Bill Williams. http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/9920884/Words-out-on-Sonny-Bill

Come and see the What Lies Beneath Exhibition at the Gala Night on Friday 28th March 6pm National Library, 8 Stanley Street, Parnell. Partake in wine and nibbles while you listen to a children’s author/illustrator panel talk about the challenges and joys of creating a book, with time for a Q & A, see sneak…

http://kidsbooksnz.blogspot.co.nz/2014/03/new-sport-biography-from-author-david.html

I read this story about NRL player Reni Maitua this morning and found it really moving. They call depression “the black dog”. If you have those “dark thoughts” about life, about whether you have value and a bright future, I really encourage you to read this story and get help. If you know someone going…

I like the words of author Seth Godin who wrote this blog post following the death of Nelson Mandela: “For those that seek to make a change in the world, whether global or local, one lesson of his life is this: You can. You can make a difference. You can stand up to insurmountable forces….

Just wanted to give a big shout to all the teachers out there doing inspirational things with their students. It’s easy to hate on teachers, there’s a  lot of negative stereotypes out there: –  teacher said, ‘you’ll never make it, you’re headed for jail!’ –  teacher said, ‘people like you can’t learn.’ –  teacher said,…

Here’s a review of Steppin’ with Benji Marshall on the Kids Books NZ blog http://kidsbooksnz.blogspot.co.nz/2013/11/a-sport-biography-for-children-about.html

So proud to be a “Pasifikan” after watching today’s rugby league World Cup quarter final between Fiji and Samoa. There was some of this but finished with this Proud to be a white Pasifikan today 🙂

The title of this post is a line from the “Manu Siva Tau”, the dance the Manu Samoa rugby team performs before test matches. The Manu Siva Tau was written for the 1991 Rugby World Cup, Samoa’s first World Cup. That was the tournament where Samoa scored one of the biggest shocks in rugby history…

2 poetry books being launched this week by inspirational Pasifika heroes. “Dark Sparring” by Selina Tusitala Marsh You Tube promo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6nWZu8wx60&feature=share Some background information: http://www.press.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/notices/template/notice_item.jsp?cid=569290 “Afakasi Speaks” by Grace Taylor ” Does it matter, Sāmoa? I am a fleeing anthem “ (from the poem ‘Samoa Mo Samoa’ ) Here’s info about the launch: https://www.facebook.com/events/170423496491647/

People born in the years 1980-2000 are often referred to as “Generation Y”. This generation has been labelled many things by older generations: ‘Peter Pan’ generation because they take longer to grow up ‘Microwave’ generation because they want things instantly ‘Internet’ generation because they are always on their phones, Facebook, Twitter This evening the awesome…

I recently finished reading a really interesting book about Michael Jackson, called Man in the Music by Joseph Vogel. The reason I really enjoyed the book is because it’s the first time I’ve read a book that doesn’t talk about Michael’s life, but about his music.   The book gives fascinating insights about Michael’s music….

Last night students from Tangaroa College danced at Vodafone Event Centre with the Auckland Philarmonia Orchestra! The show was called Takarangi and also included Balmoral School, Waitakere College and Unitec Dance students. What an amazing opportunity for these young people to experience professional standard work in art forms they don’t usually have much exposure to:…

Here’s a review of Steppin’ with Benji Marshall by a student in Australia. http://www.readplus.com.au/blog_detail.php?id=3930

On Monday Sept 30th students from Tangaroa College, Waitakere College, Balmoral School and Unitec, will dance with the Auckland Philarmonia Orchestra at Vodafone Event Centre in Manukau. Such an amazing project exposing students to new art forms: contemporary Maori dance and orchestral music! Choreography by Moss Patterson of Atamira Dance Company.

Come to Tangaroa College this Tuesday evening if you’d like to see some local theatre featuring amazing young people of Otara. My year 12 Drama class are performing a play called “Too Much Too Young”. It’s on the theme of teen pregnancy and sexual health, a pretty big issue in our community.  

Went to the Storylines Festival at Vodafone Event Centre on Saturday. It was awesome to be around some of the legends of childrens’ writing in Aotearoa: Gavin Bishop, Jennifer Beck, David Hill and others. It really struck me how humble and generous the writers were. Have you read Remember that November by Jennifer Beck? That’s…