Versatile and prolific, the first Maori novelist to be published, Witi Ihimaera has published twelve novels, six collections of short stories, written for theatre and film, co-produced films and documentaries, edited several books on the arts and culture of New Zealand and taught at the University of Auckland.
He has received many prestigious awards, including the inaugural Star of Oceania Award from the University of Hawaii in 2009, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Award in 2009, the Toi Maori Maui Tiketike Award in 2010 and the Premio Ostana International Award in Italy in 2010.
