THE SWIMMER & THE WHALES - Witi Ihimaera Smiler

Witi Ihimaera Smiler will kōrero with filmmaker Hamish Bennett about how he reclaimed his voice, history and whakapapa by studying te reo Māori. Today a youthful 82-year-old, Witi is more prolific than ever, with three books out in 2026. Witi will kōrero about his new memoir, Te Kaikaukau | The Swimmer, as well as his highly anticipated new YA novel, The Star Path of the Whales: A Return to the Realm of The Whale Rider, which revisits the classic novel that became the classic film. Witi and Hamish will also discuss Ariā and the Monster Island, the third children’s book in the Astromancer series. Witi’s memoir, Te Kaikaukau | The Swimmer: I te Ao o te Reo tells the story of his decision, at the age of eighty, to dive back into the water and spend a year in full-time study, immersing himself in te reo Māori. The memoir, which sparkles with whaikōrero and whakataukī, is written for all: Māori and Pākehā, fluent reo Māori speakers and those for whom the language is still a mystery, a dream, an aspiration. Witi’s new YA novel, The Star Path of the Whales: A Return to the Realm of The Whale Rider tells the story of young whale who sets out on a search for the whale rider’s heir, and a teenager called Teva who takes an epic voyage to Antarctica with a fleet of waka hourua to claim his lost inheritance. And Witi’s latest children’s book, Astromancer 3: Ariā and the Monster Island is all about the adventures of the Astromancer and her apprentices when they travel back through time to Hawaiki and meet Ruapakanga and his albatross warrior. And then there are two more books in the making. Gather with us to welcome back to Whakatū Nelson one of our most beloved writers, who will be appearing at the Nelson Arts Festival for the fifth time.