Māori Writers Festival 2025 Celebrates Language and Creativity

The Kupu Māori Writers Festival has kicked off in Rotorua, bringing together a vibrant community of Māori writers for its fourth annual event. The festival, spanning two days, commenced on August 4, 2025, and has sold out, showcasing a diverse lineup of authors, including renowned figures such as Patricia Grace, J. P. Pomare, Dr. Monty Soutar, and Dr. Hinemoa Elder.

Festival Kaihautū Ruakiri Fairhall highlighted this year’s expansion in programming, introducing a wider array of “word wizards,” such as poets, composers, publishers, and translators. A notable change in 2025 is the dedicated day for te reo Māori, where all aspects of the festival, from the emcee to the participants, will engage in the Māori language. Fairhall expressed the significance of this decision, stating, “It’s an opportunity for us to ensure that through Kupu, we can bring te reo rangatira to life within these ancestral whare that we host these events.”

Fairhall, who is affiliated with Ngāti Tarawhai, Te Arawa, Te Whakatōhea, Te Whānau a Apanui, and Ngāti Awa, emphasized the growing community of Māori writers producing works in both Māori and English. “There’s a really strong focus in translations of pukapuka (books) that are already written predominantly in English, which is great because it ensures that we have an opportunity to keep our language ahead in terms of new terminology or vocabulary that comes into our spaces,” he noted.

Yet, Fairhall stressed the need to cultivate more original writing in te reo. “We need to create more writers in te reo. We need to write more in te reo from the get-go and so we hope that Kupu can provide an opportunity to bring new and up-and-coming writers together, as well as current successful Māori writers who write in te reo Māori,” he stated.

The festival aims to support and encourage writers to enhance their skills in both languages while celebrating all forms of writing, regardless of the language used. “The population of Māori writers is definitely growing and they will keep growing. We just need to ensure that we have both languages walk in parallel together to ensure that we don’t let the English language take over the concepts that exist in kupu Māori,” Fairhall added.

Writers Retreat Inspires Future Generations

Earlier this year, in mid-August, the Kupu festival hosted a writers retreat at Lake Ōkataina near Rotorua. Fairhall described the retreat as a unique opportunity for writers to connect in a less overwhelming environment while engaging with a wealth of talent. One memorable moment involved a workshop led by author Shilo Kino, where a young participant initially reluctant to read discovered a connection with the material.

“So as Shilo passed her book around, just for them to have a look at the cover, this girl picked up this book and she never let that book down until she got home all the way to Taupō and managed to read 84 pages from Shilo’s workshop all the way to the time she got home,” Fairhall recounted. “Although we may not have created a writer in that young girl, we gave her an opportunity to dive into a pukapuka that she could relate to.”

The retreat and the festival serve as vital platforms for both Māori and non-Māori to engage with Māori stories, enriching the cultural landscape. “Our kaupapa for Kupu is to celebrate past, present, and future writers. It’s also to create a new generation of Māori writers,” Fairhall concluded.

In summary, the Kupu Māori Writers Festival not only showcases the work of established authors but also emphasizes the importance of nurturing the next generation of writers in both Māori and English, ensuring that the rich heritage of Māori language and storytelling remains vibrant and accessible.