Māori Authors (YA)

If you’re looking for fiction written by Māori authors, for NCEA or just because they’re good, here are a few we recommend, along with one or two of their books (most have many more!). Note: we’d love to add to this – if you’ve got a favourite Māori author not here then email us their name and we’ll add them!

Updated June 19, 2024
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Once were warriors
Duff, Alan
Paper Book
Once Were Warriors is Alan Duff's harrowing vision of his country's indigenous people two hundred years after the English conquest. In prose that is both raw and compelling, it tells the story of Beth Heke, a Maori woman struggling to keep her family from falling apart, despite the squalor and...
Ao Toa : Earth warrior
Dunsford, Cathie.
Paper Book
A band of passionate conservationists wage war against the ravages of pollution and unregulated genetic engineering in this eco-thriller about sustainable ecology, the morality of science, and the interplay between local interests and the demands of the corporate and political world. New...
Song of the selkies
Dunsford, Cathie
Ebook
Cowrie and Sasha turn detectives to discover the truth behind Morrigan and the song of the selkies.
Tu
Grace, Patricia
Paper Book
In this new novel acclaimed Maori novelist Patricia Grace visits the often terrifying and complex world faced by men of the Maori Battalion in Italy during World War II. Tu is proud of his name--the Maori god of war. But for the returned soldier there's a shadow over his own war...
The bone people : a novel
Hulme, Keri.
Paper Book
Integrating both Maori myth and New Zealand reality, The Bone People became the most successful novel in New Zealand publishing history when it appeared in 1984. Set on the South Island beaches of New Zealand, a harsh environment, the novel chronicles the complicated relationships between three...
The whale rider
Ihimaera, Witi
Paper Book
Eight-year-old Kahu, a member of the Maori tribe of Whangara, New Zealand, fights to prove her love, her leadership, and her destiny. Her people claim descent from Kahutia Te Rangi, the legendary "whale rider." In every generation since Kahutia, a male heir has inherited the title of chief. But...
Aue
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE JANN MEDLICOTT ACORN PRIZE FOR FICTION WINNER OF THE MITOQ BEST FIRST BOOK OF FICTION WINNER OF THE NGAIO MARSH AWARD FOR BEST CRIME NOVEL auē (verb) to cry, howl, groan, wail, bawl. (interjection) expression of astonishment or distress....
Dark souls : a novel
Morris, Paula.
Paper Book
Welcome to York, England. Mist lingers in the streets. Narrow buildings cast long shadows. This is the most haunted city in the world. . . . Miranda Tennant arrives in York with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint cobblestones,...
The bone tree
Ngarewa, Airana
Paper Book
An unforgettable debut by a major new literary talent. Kauri and Black's mum has been gone six months now. Their dad is barely holding on and the threat of child services taking Black looms large. Kauri won't let that happen, and so he embarks on a journey into their family's past....
Tauhou A Novel
Nuttall, K¿?tuku Titihuia.
Paper Book
Finalist, 2024 Amazon Canada First Novel Award Dear grandmother, I am writing this song, over and over again, for you. I am a stranger in this place, he tauhou ahau, reintroducing myself to your land.  Tauhou is an inventive exploration of Indigenous families, womanhood, and...
Call me Evie : a novel
Pomare, J. P.
Paper Book
A seventeen-year-old struggles to remember the tragic night that changed her life forever in this twist-filled debut novel of psychological suspense for fans of Sharp Objects and The Last Time I Lied. Evie and her uncle Jim have just moved to an isolated cabin in a...
In the Clearing
Pomare, J. P.
Paper Book
Set against a ticking clock, this "haunting" and "atmospheric" thriller that inspired the Hulu miniseries "The Clearing" pits a ruthless cult against a mother's love, revealing that our darkest secrets are the hardest ones to leave behind (Sally Hepworth, New York...
Greta & Valdin
Reilly, Rebecca K
Paper Book
The modern world is too much for me. I feel like I'm George of the Jungle.' -Greta 'At the moment, for personal reasons, I don't like reading things about people being in love with each other.' -Valdin Valdin is still in love with his ex-boyfriend Xabi, who used to drive around Auckland in a ute but...
The White Mouse
Wake, Nancy
Paper Book
Nancy Wake, nicknamed 'the white mouse' for her ability to evade capture, tells her own story. As the Gestapo's most wanted person, and one of the most highly decorated servicewomen of the war, it's a story worth telling.After living and working in Paris in the 1930's, Nancy married a wealthy...

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