The kiwi delegation of more than 85 publishers, authors, government representatives, including  the Wellington mayoral delegation, will arrive in Taipei from this weekend. The NZ Guest of Honour Pavilion covers more than 400sqm and is a stunning design by Andrew Patterson. Publishers will have the opportunity to meet with many potential publishing partners from the Asian region and to network at the many events being organised for us. PANZ wishes the delegation an enjoyable and successful fair and there will be regular reports from the event.

Remember to check keep an eye out our Taipei blog for all the latest news from TIBE.

Looking forward to meeting and interacting with tangata whenua (host people of the land) and listening to some of their stories plus the experience of absorbing some of the culture, the colour and the many languages that make up Taipei.

Peti, a native speaker of Māori, grew up in Ruātoki, New Zealand. A tiny mist shrouded valley where her imagination ran riot and was encouraged by her aunties, countless kuia (older female members of her tribe) and especially her mum to be creative with words. She was privy to the heartrending accounts, the sometimes open, dark, macabre humour, and the gossip that only women can weave. And so, a rich idiomatic foundation was laid which is an important feature of her writings. Peti’s books target Māori speakers, and recently second language learners of Māori in educational settings.

Peti’s writing has been recognised nationally as being outstanding. In 2009 her book Mihiroa, won the Te Kura Pounamu Award for Māori fiction ‘considered to be the most distinguished contribution to literature for children and young adults written in Te Reo Māori[1]’. Peti also wrote the first Māori language trilogy for young adults, Taku Ohooho which is a fiction fantasy set in an alternate dimension pitting good against evil.

[1] Library and Information Association of New Zealand (2010). www.lianza.org.nz

Phil Tchernegovski was born in West Auckland in 1952, the second eldest of 11 children. He recently completed Mountain of The Sleeping Moon, which is published in Taiwan. He tells the story of his search for his son Reuben who disappeared without trace in 1998 while tramping in Taiwan’s rugged and majestic Ali Mountain forest.

Phil is the proud father of four wonderful children including Reuben. Reuben was a promising medical student who planned to continue his interest in cancer research as a surgeon.

Phil is a sculptor and has twice received the International Fletcher Pottery Award.

During the time he spent in Taiwan in 1998 searching for Reuben, he was involved in teaching about New Zealand and art-ceramic sculpture in local schools. He was the subject of TV documentaries and was involved in cultural exchanges with the Taiwanese people. Phil returned to Taiwan in 1999 to help with the earthquake rebuild in Sunmoon Lake. He has returned to Taiwan more than 10 times to be where his son lies and to see his many lifelong friends.

We are delighted to be able to share the programme of events at the New Zealand Pavilion at TIBE 2015.

The fair begins in just over 2 weeks and  we have a  delegation of more than 85 Kiwis leaving in early February who will experience this exciting opportunity.

Check out the PDF here to see the wide range of events on offer and who will be participating.

New Zealand is set to take centre-stage in Taipei as the designated Guest of Honour at the Taipei Book Fair, one of the biggest fairs of its kind in Asia. The honour will see 22 New Zealand authors, including Eleanor Catton, Witi Ihimaera and Joy Cowley, travel to Taipei for the event. Two New Zealand publishers, however, won’t be needing to pack their bags for the trip. Wellington publishers, the brothers Ron Hanson and Mark Hanson, have based their magazine White Fungus in Taiwan since 2009.

Campbell Kneale

The Hansons, whose Taiwan roots actually stretch back to 2000, have become kind of unlikely celebrities in Taiwan with regular appearances in the mass media and a string of public events and talks behind them. Now the brothers will use their name recognition in Taiwan to boost the profile of New Zealand literature and art. As part of the county’s presence in Taipei, the Hansons have produced a New Zealand issue of their sister bilingual (Chinese and English) publication the Subconscious Restaurant. The publication will be released with a high profile sound art event at Taipei’s prestigious Huashan Creative Park featuring three New Zealand artists: Greg Malcolm, Jeff Henderson and Campbell Kneale.

Greg Malcolm

White Fungus and Subconscious Restaurant editor Ron Hanson says they’re thrilled to introduce some of their favorite New Zealand musicians and write rs to their second home and stomping ground. “This project really ties together a lot of loose threads for us,” he says. “White Fungus is a global project but New Zealand and Taiwan are the two countries which are most central to what we’re doing. Now our New Zealand and Taiwan artistic communities are about to become united through this publication and event”.

Jeff Henderson

The fourth issue of the Hansons’ Subconscious Restaurant comprises solely of New Zealand content. For the first time, some of the rich currents of New Zealand music and literature will be available for readers in Chinese. The publication includes the first three chapters of Vivienne Plumb’s new “long” short story “Forthcoming”, and an article by Murdoch Stephens explaining the origins of his project dealing with displaced refugees “Doing Our Bit” which was exhibited at Pataka and Waikato Museum. The issue includes a history of New Zealand DIY music by Bruce Russell, tracing a trajectory which encounters composers as distinctive and diverse as Douglas Lilburn and Chris Knox. Controversial Nelson conceptual artist Tao Wells writes about the founding of the nation. The issue contains an in-depth history article about Chew Chong, who immigrated from China to New Zealand in the 19th century and helped pioneer the Taranaki dairy industry.

Linda Tuhiwai Smith is Professor of Education and Māori Development, Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori and Dean of the School of Māori and Pacific Development as well as the founding Director for Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

She is the President of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education, is a member of the Marsden Fund Council and Convener of the Social Sciences Assessment Panel, and is also a member of The Royal Society of New Zealand.  Linda was also recently a member of the New Zealand’s Health Research Council and Chair of the Māori Health Research Committee.

This year Linda was made an American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellow and in 2013 was honoured in the New Zealand New Year’s Honours List – (CNZM) Companion of the Said Order for services to Māori and education.  She has worked in the field of Māori Education and Health for many years as an educator and researcher and is well known for her work in Kaupapa Māori Research.

Professor Smith has published widely in journals and books.  Her book Decolonising Methodologies Research and Indigenous Peoples has been an international best seller in the indigenous world since its publication in 1998.  Professor Smith was a founding Joint Director of New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence from 2002-2007 and a Professor of Education at the University of Auckland.  She is well known internationally as a public speaker.  Professor Smith is from two tribes or iwi in New Zealand, Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Porou.

Photo credit Lisa Gardiner

One of my favourite things in the world is experiencing new cultures, and this trip will mean not only encountering the vibrant urban centre of Taipei, but also the unique cultures of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. I am grateful for the opportunity presented by the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan, Te Puni Kōkiri and PANZ to take part in this cultural exchange. Me Rongo!

Tina Makereti is a novelist, essayist and author of short stories. Her first novel, Where the Rēkohu Bone Sings (Vintage, 2014) has been described as a New Zealand classic and ‘a remarkable first [book that] spans generations of Moriori, Māori and Pākehā descendants as they grapple with a legacy of pacifism, violent domination and cross-cultural dilemmas.’ It recently won the 2014 Ngā Kupu Ora Aotearoa Māori Book Award for Fiction. Her short story collection, Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa (Huia Publishers 2010), which combines mythological and contemporary stories, also won the Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Award for Fiction in 2011. In 2009 she was the recipient of the Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize for Creative Science Writing (non-fiction), and in the same year received the Pikihuia Award for Best Short Story Written in English. Makereti is Curator Māori for Museums Wellington and convenes a Māori & Pasifika Creative Writing Workshop at Victoria University. She is of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Pākehā and Moriori descent. www.tinamakereti.com

Charisma Rangipunga is the mother of three sons and is raising them with the Māori language as their first language.  As a mum trying to raise her children in Māori, reading time was always a little bit difficult when none of the cool books were in Māori, so she started putting pen to paper. Charisma has written a range of books for both adults and children and is also composer of songs. By day she is a General Manager for her tribe  Ngāi Tahu and works to ensure that their tribal identity, knowledge and heritage is protected for future generations.  This includes the revitalization of Māori language within homes.

PĀNUI PĀPAHO | MEDIA RELEASE

Te 23 o Hakihea 2014 | 23 December 2014

Te Puni Kōkiri and the Council of Indigenous Peoples, Taiwan are sponsoring three Māori writers to attend the Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE 2015) which last year attracted over half a million visitors and and 648 publisher exhibitors from around the world.

Tina Makereti, Peti Nohotima and Linda Tuhiwai Smith are the three authors who will join 19 other New Zealand authors, illustrators and graphic novelists already engaged in the Visiting Author Programme.

TIBE 2015 is part of the Te Puni Kōkiri and the Council’s commitment to Chapter 19 of the Economic Cooperation Agreement between the two countries to facilitate economic and cultural cooperation between Māori and indigenous Taiwanese.

Te Puni Kōkiri chief executive Michelle Hippolite said the three sponsored authors would add a rich and unique dimension to the exhibition.

“This is particularly important given our ancestral links to indigenous Taiwan and the increasing economic and cultural opportunities offered by TIBE 2015 which fulfil our goals of Māori succeeding nationally and globally.”

The authors will be involved in a series of events at the New Zealand Pavilion in the fair exhibition hall and in other venues in conjunction with Taiwanese publishers.

The Pavilion is intended to provide a setting conducive to the enjoyment of literature around the theme ‘Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Books’.  It seeks to provide a real life demonstration of ‘open heart, open mind’ for the Taipei book fair illustrating by example the actual experience of openness in Aotearoa New Zealand.

New Zealand is the Guest of Honour at TIBE 2015, and is taking advantage of the opportunity to promote and showcase the country in as many ways as possible.

The Guest of Honour Programme, managed by the Publishers Association of New Zealand consists of the Visiting Author Programme, a cultural programme, a substantial publisher presence (both trade and educational publishers selling rights to NZ material), the Graphic Novelist Exchange, and an Illustrations Exhibition in the Children’s Hall.

TIBE 2015 opens on Wednesday 11^th February 2015 and closes on Monday 16^th February.

ENDS

Tina Makereti is a fiction writer.  She has also been recognised for her non-fiction, winning the Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize for Creative Science Writing – Non-fiction in 2009.  Tina completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters in 2008 and the following year she won the Huia Publishers Best Story Award for Best Short Story Written in English.  Her first collection of short stories, Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa was published in 2010 by Huia Publishers.

Peti Nohotima has written extensively in Māori for all age groups.  From picture books for children ‘Parera, Parera’ published in English and Māori in 1991, Whakarongo, Korerohia, Whakaarihia in 2006, to short plays for children a trilogy of novelettes in 2007.   She also collaborated with Cliff Whiting in 2008 to write a series of short stories to explain well-known whakatauki; this collaboration was the catalyst for the biography on Cliff Whiting.  Peti is well-known outside of her area.  She has for the past 20 years or so mentored Ian Christensen and a number of other people throughout the country.

Linda Tuhiwai Smith Ngati Awa, Ngati Porou is Professor of Education and Māori Development, Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori, Dean of the School of Māori and Pacific Development and Director of Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. She has worked in the field of Māori education and health for many years as an educator and is well-known for her work in kaupapa Māori research.  Professor Smith has published widely in journals and books.  Her book Decolonizing Methodologies Research and Indigenous Peoples has been an international best seller in the indigenous world since its publication in 1988.

For further details contact:  Hoki-mai Chong, Te Puni Kōkiri, Senior Policy Analyst 027 499 5371

For further details about the Visiting Author Programme contact: Ka Meechan, Project Manager, NZ Guest of Honour, Taipei International Book Exhibition 2015, Publishers Association of NZ (PANZ)   ka@publishers.org.nz