Summary: Witi Ihimaera - is one of the best known names in New Zealand literature - works such as Pounamu Pounamu, The Whale Rider and The Matriarch. He was the first Maori writer to publish both a book of short stories and a novel and was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004 for services to literature. His 2016 memoir Maori Boy won the Ockham New Zealand Book Award for Non-Fiction and in 2017 he was honoured with the 2017 Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. Witi Ihimaera has worked as an academic and writer but these days, at 74, is writing full time.
