PMN Niue interview

(Ode To An(often dis)Regarded Audience) Earlier this year I started a writers club at Tupu Youth Library in Ōtara. It’s a place young people can come and just write without worrying that their writing will be judged or “marked”. This evening we launched a book of some of the writing – a collection by ten…

Kinaua Ewels is a Kiribati-Kiwi primary school teacher who shared an amazing story about her grandfather, Konererio, with me. He was a ‘Coastwatcher’ during World War II and saved many people’s lives because of his bravery. Kinaua asked if we could work together to make a children’s book based on that story and here it…

Sometimes when you hear the phrase “the streets” it has negative connotations, especially the streets of places like Manurewa. That’s why I’ve been doing this project with children of Waimāhia Intermediate to change that perception. In this collection of writing the children write about the people, places and memories of their streets which are uplifting…

This year Chad Sta-Krucial Robertson and I have been working on an awesome project with the Tuvalu Auckland Community Trust. We made 8 bilingual Tuvaluan children’s books, one representing each island of Tuvalu, and today the books were launched as part of Tuvalu Language Week celebrations. Each book comes with an audio version as well…

Spent the morning at Flat Bush School with inspirational alumni Willie Maea, Samson Vaotuua, Greg Va’afusuaga, Jay Paniani and Dr Julienne Faletau as they returned to visit their old school. The Writers Group of children interviewed these tuakana for a book of inspiration that will be called Flat Bush Forever.

“Thank you to former MC student & Author Extraordinare David Riley for the gift of boxes of new books to families in South Auckland so they can start, or add to their own kāinga pukapuka – home libraries. The books are culturally specific e.g. a box of Maori books for a Maori family, Samoan books…