Huia Publishers
Encyclopedia
Huia Publishers is an award-winning independent publishing company based in Wellington
, New Zealand
. The company was established in 1991 by Robyn Bargh to bring Māori voices in New Zealand literature by promoting Māori writers, Māori language and Māori perspectives.
Many of the company’s books feature the Māori language or the experiences of Māori. Huia published the first Māori monolingual dictionary in 2006 Tirohia Kimihia.
The company now also publishes books by Pacific authors. Leading Pacific writers such as Albert Wendt
and Karlo Mila
have published with Huia Publishers.
Finalists and winners of the awards have been published in the Māori Short Stories series and Ngā Pakiwaitara a Huia, the Māori language version of the series.
The Pikihuia Awards have helped raise the profile of authors such as James George who wrote Hummingbird, a finalist in the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for best book in the South Pacific region. Other authors that have won Pikihuia Awards are Kelly Ana Morey and Paul Morris
.
The awards was a joint initiative by Huia Publishers and Spasifik magazine. Finalists for the first awards were published in Niu Voices.
was a native bird to New Zealand that became extinct in the early 20th century. The bird was valued by Māori and considered sacred, their feathers were restricted only for people of high status. The bird’s distinct wattle colour and tail feather pattern, along with the female’s unique curved beak was such a curiosity for Europeans that hundreds of birds were killed and sent overseas to be displayed in exhibitions, as a result of its valued and habitat destruction the bird became extinct.
The Huia bird symbolises how unique treasures can be destroyed if left unprotected. Many Māori songs (waiata) and proverbs (whakataukī) describe how the Māori language is a treasure to be protected.
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The company was established in 1991 by Robyn Bargh to bring Māori voices in New Zealand literature by promoting Māori writers, Māori language and Māori perspectives.
Many of the company’s books feature the Māori language or the experiences of Māori. Huia published the first Māori monolingual dictionary in 2006 Tirohia Kimihia.
The company now also publishes books by Pacific authors. Leading Pacific writers such as Albert Wendt
Albert Wendt
Albert Wendt, CNZM is a Samoan poet and writer who also lives in New Zealand. Among his works is Leaves of the Banyan Tree .-Biography:...
and Karlo Mila
Karlo Mila
Karlo Mila is a New Zealand poet. She is of Tongan, Palangi and Samoan heritage, and educated at Massey University in Palmerston North. Her first award was the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry at the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, for Dream Fish Floating...
have published with Huia Publishers.
Pikihuia Awards
Huia publishers, in conjunction with the Māori Literature Trust, started New Zealand’s first Māori writers awards in 1995 under the name of the Māori Literature Awards, it was later changed to E Tuhi! and is now called the Pikihuia Māori Writers Awards. The awards are held held biennially and aims to encourage Māori writers to publish their work.Finalists and winners of the awards have been published in the Māori Short Stories series and Ngā Pakiwaitara a Huia, the Māori language version of the series.
The Pikihuia Awards have helped raise the profile of authors such as James George who wrote Hummingbird, a finalist in the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for best book in the South Pacific region. Other authors that have won Pikihuia Awards are Kelly Ana Morey and Paul Morris
Paul Morris
Paul Morris is the name of:* Paul Morris , former keyboardist for Rainbow* Paul Morris , educational writer who published an influential work on the Hong Kong School Curriculum in 1998...
.
The Huia Spasifik Short Story Awards
The Huia Spasifik Short Story competition was held in 2005 and again in 2006 to support and develop Pacific writers.The awards was a joint initiative by Huia Publishers and Spasifik magazine. Finalists for the first awards were published in Niu Voices.
Brand Etymology
The HuiaHuia
The Huia was the largest species of New Zealand wattlebird and was endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. Its extinction in the early 20th century had two primary causes. The first was rampant overhunting to procure Huia skins for mounted specimens, which were in worldwide demand by...
was a native bird to New Zealand that became extinct in the early 20th century. The bird was valued by Māori and considered sacred, their feathers were restricted only for people of high status. The bird’s distinct wattle colour and tail feather pattern, along with the female’s unique curved beak was such a curiosity for Europeans that hundreds of birds were killed and sent overseas to be displayed in exhibitions, as a result of its valued and habitat destruction the bird became extinct.
The Huia bird symbolises how unique treasures can be destroyed if left unprotected. Many Māori songs (waiata) and proverbs (whakataukī) describe how the Māori language is a treasure to be protected.
Awards
- Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka by Hilary and John Mitchell. Montana New Zealand Book AwardsMontana New Zealand Book AwardsThe New Zealand Post Book Awards are a series of literary awards to works of New Zealand citizens. They were created in 1996, as a merge of the two previously most relevant awards in New Zealand: the Montana Book Awards and the New Zealand Book Awards...
, History Book Award 2008. - Oh Hogwash Sweet Pea! by Ngareta Gabel, illustrations by Ali Teo and Astrid Jensen. New Zealand Post Book Awards, Children and Young Adults category, Children’s Choice Award 2004.
- Eruera Manuera by Te Onehou Phillis. Montana New Zealand Book AwardsMontana New Zealand Book AwardsThe New Zealand Post Book Awards are a series of literary awards to works of New Zealand citizens. They were created in 1996, as a merge of the two previously most relevant awards in New Zealand: the Montana Book Awards and the New Zealand Book Awards...
, Honour Award 2002. - Te Wao Nui a Tane by Hirini Melbourne, illustrations by Te Maari Gardiner. New Zealand Post Book Awards, Children and Young Adults category, Non-Fiction Award 2000.
Published Authors
- Briar Grace-SmithBriar Grace-SmithBriar Grace-Smith is a playwright and screenwriter from New Zealand. Her first major play, Ngā Pou Wahine earned her the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award . Her play Purapurawhetū won Best New Zealand Play at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards. In 2000, she received the Arts Foundation Laureate Award. In...
- Hone KoukaHone KoukaHone Kouka is an acclaimed New Zealand playwright. He has written 13 plays which have been staged in New Zealand and worldwide including Canada, South Africa, New Caledonia and Britain. Kouka's plays have won multiple awards at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards, the 'Oscars' of New Zealand theatre....
- Victor RodgerVictor RodgerVictor Rodger is a journalist, actor and award winning playwrightin New Zealand whose theatre work deals with race, racism and identity...
- David Vernon WilliamsDavid Vernon WilliamsProfessor David Vernon Williams is a professor, and the Deputy dean of the University of Auckland's Faculty of Law. He came from the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand, and was educated at Wanganui Collegiate School....
- Albert WendtAlbert WendtAlbert Wendt, CNZM is a Samoan poet and writer who also lives in New Zealand. Among his works is Leaves of the Banyan Tree .-Biography:...
- Karlo MilaKarlo MilaKarlo Mila is a New Zealand poet. She is of Tongan, Palangi and Samoan heritage, and educated at Massey University in Palmerston North. Her first award was the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry at the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, for Dream Fish Floating...
Sources
- The New Zealand Writer's Handbook
- Writers & Artists' Yearbook
- http://bpanz.org.nz
- http://www.huia.co.nz
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huia