A short story collection written in Te Reo Maori made history this year by winning the inaugural Maori Language Prize at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Editors Piripi Walker and Huriana Raven were presented with the $5,000 prize for their book Te Tu a Te Toka: He Ieretanga no nga Tai e Wha. The judge of the award, Mr. Hone Apanui, says the winning book is ‘especially notable is the use of iwi vernacular, the keen observation and the turn of phrase, which rings clear and true in every piece of writing. How similar experiences can be told in a range of voices and appear fresh each time is remarkable.’
