Name: Waimatua Morris
Role: Sales and Marketing Manager
Company: Huia Publishers
My first job in publishing was… I did a small stint at Huia in the summer of 2003 while studying at university but my first proper job in publishing was in 2014 as the Production Manager at Huia. In January this year, I was promoted to Sales and Marketing Manager.
I’m currently reading… I usually have a few books on the go, moving between non-fiction and fiction, to balance intellectually stimulating stories with easy-to-read stories that I can get lost in and forget about everything else. I recently read The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. This book was easy to read and full of drama and suspense.
I found the perfect ‘meditation hack’ book for those wanting to practice mindfulness everyday but don’t really know how to. The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman has 366 meditations – one for every day of the year! It’s the perfect solution for my failed New Year’s resolution.
I’ve started reading Legacy, an upcoming Huia title by Whiti Hereaka. This is a timeslip YA novel about seventeen-year-old Riki who is hit by a bus and suddenly finds himself serving as his great-great-grandfather in the Māori contingent in Egypt, in 1915. The novel also takes you back to read transcripts of interviews Riki’s great-grandfather gave in 1975 about his experience in this war. This story has a great pace, is humorous and easy to read. I’m looking forward to getting further through this story.
My biggest career highlight in publishing to date… The Pikihuia Awards, a biennial writing competition Huia organise on behalf of the Māori Literature Trust. The awards provide an opportunity for Māori writers to practice their craft and be recognised for it. My role specifically was around promoting the competition and helping with organising the awards event. It is a fun evening to celebrate with the writers, their whānau and friends. I learnt a long time ago that for work to be enjoyable, it has to be meaningful and for work to be meaningful, I needed to make a positive contribution to something bigger than myself. Working at Huia makes this possible.
