I’m Maori and some people say that a long time ago we came from Taiwan. If I look vaguely familiar, do say kia ora, hello.
WITI IHIMAERA is of Maori descent and became the first Maori novelist with the publication of Tangi, 1973. His subsequent work includes The Matriarch, 1986, The Whale Rider, 1987, Ask The Posts of the House, 2007, The Parihaka Woman, 2011 and The Thrill of Falling 2012. The first volume of his memoir, Maori Boy: A New Zealand Childhood was published in New Zealand in November 2014. He is Emeritus Professor and teaches creative writing at Manukau Institute of Technology, South Auckland.
Three of Witi Ihimaera’s books have been made into feature films, Whale Rider, 2002, Kawa (Nights in the Gardens of Spain), 2010, and White Lies, 2013. A feature film is currently in production in New Zealand of his novel Bulibasha, King of the Gypsies and is expected to be premiered internationally at the end of 2015. Ihimaera’s most recent awards have included an inaugural Star of Oceania Award, University of Hawaii, 2009, a laureate award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation, 2009, the Premio Ostana International Award, 2010 and the Toi Maori Maui Tiketike Awardm 2011. His book White Lies won the fiction category of the Nga Kupu Ora Maori Book Awards, 2013. A busy writer, Ihimaera’s most recent international appearances have been at the inaugural ANZ Festival of Literature, London, Paris Book Fair and Edinburgh Literature Festival. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Titles: Whale Rider and Bulibasha are published in Taiwan by Asian Culture.
Contact: Chih-Feng LIAO asianculture201106@gmail.com
