EPIC LINE-UP OF MĀORI STORYTELLERS WILL CONVERGE ON ROTORUA FOR FOURTH KUPU MĀORI WRITERS FESTIVAL
Next month, KUPU Māori Writers Festival will bring acclaimed authors and exciting new talent from across the motu to Rotorua on 17–18 October. The festival will be closely followed by the Pikihuia Awards, held at Te Puia on Sunday 19 October for the first time in their history. Those who buy a ticket for these Awards, which celebrate emerging Māori authors, will will enjoy a delicious lunch and entertainment from performers on the Sunday.
This year, KUPU will have a full day of te reo Māori on Friday facilitated by Ruth Smith, with esteemed translators and authors including Hana Mereraiha, who has worked with artists including Tim Finn and Lorde on Waiata/Anthems, as well as the te reo Māori version of The Lion King. Hana will be joined by Hēmi Kelly, creator of Everyday Māori; Dr Vincent Olsen-Reeder, poet, author, songwriter, and translator; and Dr Kārena Kelly, kaiako, translator, and researcher.
Friday’s line-up also includes Dr Poia Rewi, a leader in Indigenous language revitalisation and whaikorero; Dr Hona and Dr Taiarahia Black; Hana Tapiata, author of Atua Wāhine; Te Haumihiata Mason ONZM; Tukiterangi Curtis, taiaha grand master and author; Dr Atakohu Middleton; and Matariki Bennett, who will be speaking in a special session at the iconic St Faith’s Church of Ōhinemutu where her koro, Rev. Frederick Augustus Bennett, became the first Māori Bishop in Aotearoa’s history. Matariki is a performance poet and author of e kō, nō hea koe.
KUPU will move from Ōhinemutu to Whakarewarewa on Saturday morning with a whakatau in honour of pioneering Māori scholar, Mākereti (Maggie) Papakura by Tūhourangi. Mākereti, the first Indigenous woman to study at the University of Oxford, is posthumously receiving her degree from the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography this year—100 years after studying there.
Saturday’s sessions will be in English and faciilated by MC Maiki Sherman. Mike McRoberts, TV journalist and author of Speaking My Language Te Kōrero i Tōku Reo, and Donovan Farnham, translator, consultant, and author of Whānau, will talk about the journey of learning te reo Māori. Next will be a panel on Whakaora with Tracy Manukonga, Hira Nathan, and Dr Hinemoa Elder; a kōrero with award-winning fiction writers Airana Ngarewa and J. P. Pomare; a screenwriting panel with Karen Te Ō Kahurangi Waaka, Hamish Bennett, Tim Worrall, and Ramon Te Wake; a session on crafting stories for the next generation with Qiane Matata-Sipu, Paula Morris, and Stacy Gregg; a kōrero with publishers who champion Māori voices in Aotearoa, including Jasmine Sargent, Mairātea Mohi, Pania Tahau-Hodges and Peter Dowling; and finally, a kōrero from Ngāhuia Te Awekōtuku, winner of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2025 for her memoir, Hine Toa.
The festival will finish with the annual Gala Dinner, featuring distinguished chefs Kārena and Kasey Bird, who will prepare a dish live for attendees, as well as performances by MOHI, Matariki Bennett, Nikau Grace, and a pōhiri by Te Matatini champions, Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue. Speakers will include Patricia Grace, Ngāhuia Te Awekōtuku and Dr Monty Soutar.
Ruakiri Fairhall, the new organiser and kaihautū for KUPU, is keen to bring a fresh, creative take to the festival while honouring the old.
‘There are so many kupu within the whakaario of our wharenui, but those kupu may not be understood by many. To bring multiple kupu experts; bringing their stories to life within the bosom of our ancestral houses, makes this a unique space of wānanga and engagement. KUPU helps to bring the stories of our carved wharenui to life.
We have a few new mediums of writing this year; this includes our screenplay writers and producers, poets, and composers. We are bringing the story of recipes to life with the Bird sisters for the Gala Dinner, and we can expect our very first te reo Māori day, which is quite exciting.’
Tickets for KUPU festival and the Pikihuia Awards are now available from kupu.org.nz
