Winners announced in Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers

The winners and runners-up in the Pikihuia Award were announced at an awards ceremony at Te Papa, Wellington, on Saturday.

The finalists in the Best Short Story in English, Best Short Story in Māori and the Novel Extract categories have been published in Huia Short Stories 9, which is now available in bookstores and on the HUIA website.

By popular request, HUIA will also be publishing the winning entries from the secondary school students’ categories on their website at www.huia.co.nz.

Winner of Best Short Story Written in English is Helen Waaka (Waipukurau) with Anahera Gildea (Wellington) and Anita Tipene (Northland) as runners-up.

Winner of Best Short Story Written in Māori is Fred Te Maro (Wellington) with Erin Thompson-Pou (Rotorua) and PJ Akuhata (Gisborne) as runners-up.  

Winner of Best Novel Extract is Marama Salsano (Gisborne) with Ann French (Tauranga) and K-T Harrison (Hamilton) as runners-up.  

Winner of Best Short Film Script is Larissa McMillan (Wellington) with Mike Townsend (Wellington) as runner-up.

Winner of Secondary School Award in English is Grace Allen (Palmerston North) with Maria Murray (Kaitaia) and Jayziah Sula (Hawke’s Bay) as runners-up.

Winner of Secondary School Award in Māori is Te Aorere Pēwhairangi (Palmerston North) with Kohukohurangi Isaac-Sharland (Palmerston North) and Hori Thompson (Rotorua) as runners-up.

The evening also saw Sir Hirini Moko Mead accept a special award for Lifetime Contribution to Māori Literature. Sir Hirini is the author of one of Huia Publisher’s best-selling and most well-received books, Tikanga Māori: Living by Māori Values.

About the awards
The Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers, formerly known as the HUIA Short Story Awards, were established in 1995 to identify and promote Māori writers. This has resulted in hundreds of stories being published, including those by many award-winning writers.

The awards are proudly sponsored by the Māori Literature Trust, Creative NZ, Te Puni Kōkiri, New Zealand Film Commission, Huia Publishers and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. 

The awards drew 324 entries and created 44 finalists.

HUIA is an award-winning independent New Zealand book publisher producing wonderful and provocative books with a uniquely Māori or Pacific perspective.