Witi Ihimaera
Witi Ihimaera Smiler DCNZM, QSM, is a prolific and accomplished New Zealand author whose body of work centring Māori culture and values has blazed a trail for Māori and indigenous writers around the world. Witi was born in Gisborne and is of Te Whānau-a-Kai, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata and Ngāti Porou descent with connections to Tūhoe, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāi Tāmanuhiri. Diplomat, professor, and one of Aotearoa’s most distinguished living writers, Witi’s many books include Pounamu, Pounamu (1972), The Matriarch (1986) and The Whale Rider (1987). He has received numerous awards, including the Wattie Book of the Year, the Montana Book Award and a Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement. In 2004 he became a Distinguished Companion of the Order of New Zealand and in 2017 France made him Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He is, today, recognised as one of the world’s leading contemporary indigenous authors and thinkers. He lives in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.
2026 festival sessions
Te Kaikaukau / The Swimmer
Witi’s Excellent Adventures in Language Learning and Storytelling After 80
Witi Ihimaera Smiler in conversation with Meriana Johnsen
3.30pm-4.30pm, Sunday 26 July, Whitehaven Theatre Marlborough
Witi Ihimaera Smiler returns to the Marlborough Book Festival to discuss a remarkable new chapter in his writing life. At the heart of the session is Te Kaikaukau / The Swimmer (Auckland University Press, May 2026), Witi’s deeply personal memoir about joining an immersive te reo Māori language class at the age of 80. Astonishingly, Te Kaikaukau is one of four books by Witi to be published this year.
Ariā & The Monster Island (Penguin Books NZ), the third book in the fantasy quest series set in the realm of the Astromancer, is out now. Two of Witi’s plays, Witi’s Wahine and Tiri Te Araroa are being published in a dual publication. And, drum roll please, Witi's new novel The Star Path (Penguin Book NZ) which returns to the world of The Whale Rider, will be released in September. Witi will reveal the cover art and read an extract from this much-anticipated novel at this session.
Broadcast journalist Meriana Johnsen will interview Witi about these works, how his renewed connection to te reo Māori continues to shape his writing and how creative excellence flourishes in his ninth decade. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to hear one of Aotearoa’s most distinguished writers talk right here in Wairau.