Monday, August 29, 2011

Split Categories in This Year’s Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers


For the first time in the Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers, the category of Best Short Story written by a Secondary School Student was split into two categories: English and te reo Māori.
HUIA Resource Developer and judge of the Māori secondary school entries Te Mihinga Komene said that, ‘the high volume of quality writing in both English and Māori needed recognition’.
The winners and runners-up in the Pikihuia Awards were announced at the awards ceremony at Te Papa, Wellington, on Saturday and had been selected from a pool of 324 entries and 44 finalists.

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.
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 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.
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. 
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.
Regional Media Networks: If you would like images from the awards to accompany articles, please contact Charlie Holland at Huia Publishers

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