Witi Ihimaera was born in Gisborne, New Zealand on February 7, 1944 into a Maori family of Mormons. After completing a B.A. in English, he worked as a journalist in New Zealand and started writing fiction. His first collection of short stories, Pounamu Pounamu, was published in 1972 and his first novel, Tangi, was published in 1973. His other works include Whanau, The Matriarch, The Whale Rider, The Dream Swimmer, Sky Dancer, The Trowenna Sea, and The Parihaka Woman. In 1982 he coedited an anthology of Maori writing, Into the World of Light, and continues to be a champion of literature in English by Maoris. In 2015 his title's Maori Boy: A Memoir and White Lies made The
New Zealand Best Seller List and in 2016 it won the New Zealand Award general nonfiction award.
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