Huia Publishers – Celebrating 21 years in Publishing

18 June 2012

Huia Publishers – Celebrating 21 years in Publishing

New business failure rates in New Zealand over the first five years regularly range up to 75% or more. Add to this the recession throwing its long shadow over the New Zealand economy and still being in business after 21 years demands special recognition. Even more so when your business is a Māori business publishing books about Māori.

In 1991, Robyn and Brian Bargh established HUIA Publishers in Wellington with the aim to produce quality books describing the diverse range of Māori perspectives - telling stories that no-one else was telling and saying the things that were not being said.

HUIA Publishers celebrates their 21st year in business this evening in Wellington with the launch of two new titles - 'Huia Histories of Māori' edited by Danny Keenan and 'Ngā Waituhi o Rēhua' by the late Katerina Te Heikōkō Mataira.

'Huia Histories of Māori' is a comprehensive history of Aotearoa New Zealand written entirely from Māori viewpoints using Māori customary structures. The book takes a fresh look at what Māori history is and how it is different from that previously portrayed. As a postcolonial history, it provides a range of fresh views on events in the past.

Written by sixteen Māori scholars, all specialists in their fields, and edited by Danny Keenan the book covers histories of descent, the land, people, and autonomy and includes writing on customary law, ancestral law, the natural world, Māori urban protest, customary language, health, politics and cultural expression.

"The 'Huia Histories of Māori' exemplifies what we set out to do in 1991" says managing director Robyn Bargh. "In this collection, Māori are not just telling the stories but devising the framework for the stories to sit within".

The second book, 'Nga Waituhi o Rēhua', is a science fantasy novel in te reo Māori and follows four teenagers living on Rēhua, a planet settled after Earth is destroyed by ecological disasters and global war. The four raise hōkio, giant mystical birds, which take them on flights to explore their new world.

"'Ngā Waituhi o Rēhua' is a landmark and provides a model for all writers of Māori" says Robyn. "It is an exemplar of Māori literature, a science fantasy book in Māori. It has excellent, enjoyable, readable Māori language using Māori literary forms – karanga, karakia, waiata, etc, and credible Māori characters who are implementing tikanga Māori in an imaginary futuristic context."

"The book is a huge achievement and stands as a beacon of hope for Māori language publishing."

And so what about the next 21 years? "There is lots to do." says Robyn. "I think we need to focus particularly on Māori language publishing. We need more Māori writers, producing books in excellent Māori in a range of genre – fiction and non-fiction. I think we need a collective vision, we need to imagine a library, a room full of books in te reo Māori ... then we will know we really have achieved something for the world to savour."

ENDS

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