"I've had to relearn my process": Witi Ihimaera Smiler on his journey to writing a te reo novel

Witi Ihimaera Smiler has published over forty written works, including novels, memoir, non-fiction, and short stories, and he's not slowing down. 

This year alone he's already released three books – ‘Te Kaikaukau | The Swimmer’, ‘The Star Path of the Whales: A Return to the Realm of The Whale Rider’, and ‘Ariā and the Monster Island’, the third children’s book in the Astromancer series. 

He broke new ground as the country's first Māori novelist and has inspired generations of writers to find and tell their own stories, shaped by Māori culture and identity. 

Ihimaera Smiler is appearing at the Nelson Arts Festival later this month, and joined Jack Tame to chat about his journey as an author and his work towards achieving his dream of writing a novel in te reo. 

LISTEN ABOVE