‘I wrote The Pōrangi Boy for kids like me’: Shilo Kino on her debut novel

Young woman in garden holding novel The Pōrangi Boy, smiling

The Marae TV journalist tells the origin story of her debut novel, a young adult book releasing this week. Patricia Grace wrote a story called “It used to be green once” and every year my Pākehā teacher would pull it out in English class and everyone would laugh at the poor Mowri family with 10 … Read more

A day in the life of a Māori journalist

The world is more connected than ever and hundreds of racist attitudes are just a click away. From well-meaning to outright hateful, when you’re a young Māori journalist working in the mainstream media, the sheer volume can be overwhelming.  My alarm goes off. Still half asleep, I rummage around the side of my bed until … Read more

On Rose Lu and her gorgeous, groundbreaking book of essays

Shilo Kino, a Māori writer who wove her own ties with China, rejoices at the release of Rose Lu’s debut, All Who Live on Islands.  I first met Rose Lu when she stood up to introduce herself at an Asia Leadership Network meeting earlier this year. We were all newbies, a group of under-30s chosen … Read more

I’m struggling to be a journalist in New Zealand right now

The media needs to take some responsibility for the prejudice that Muslims and other minorities have faced in New Zealand, writes Shilo Kino.  I became a journalist for all the wrong reasons. Honestly, I just wanted to interview famous people. As a kid I would cut out faces of the Backstreet Boys and stick them … Read more

My te reo Māori journey: Shilo Kino

This Te Wiki o Te Reo we’re sharing the stories of New Zealanders who have challenged themselves to learn te reo Māori. Today: journalist Shilo Kino (Tainui, Ngāpuhi) writes about finding her way home through studying Mandarin. I was a visitor even though it was ‘my’ marae. I watched my mother kneel down, mumble something … Read more