A visit to the WORD Christchurch Secondary Schools’ Day at the University of Canterbury.

On Monday 28th August, 36 Year 9-13 students from Te Aratai College took a trip to the University of Canterbury to attend the WORD Christchurch Secondary Schools’ Day. We heard from various New Zealand and international authors about their journey through writing and the challenges they faced. Best-selling author Jane Higgins who wrote Glimpse spoke about the real experiences behind some of her stories. Gabriel Krauze from London, UK is the author of Who They Was and he spoke powerfully about growing up within gang culture and the way he started writing a book about his experiences. Khadro Mohamed, recent winner of the New Zealand Ockham Book Award for Best First Book Award (2023) spoke about writing poetry as a way of exploring emotions. MahMah Timoteo was incredibly inspiring as she urged us to be confident and proud of who we are.

One thing that stood out to us was the variety of speakers. They all grew up in different environments and backgrounds but they all shared their love of writing. This love for writing helped them through all stages of their life, no matter how different. The range of individuals allowed the audience to relate to the authors.

In particular, Witi Ihimaera who wrote The Whale Rider spoke about the decision to use a female character as the next tribe leader. This challenged Māori traditions resulting in some criticism from the community. Witi stuck with his ideas and The Whale Rider is now a best-selling book, recreated in film and live action. He encouraged us to challenge stereotypes and traditions around us and make a path of our own.

At the end of the sessions, the authors were available to chat and sign books. It was amazing to meet these talented writers and get their signatures! Thank you to Ms Singh and Miss Campbell who took us on this inspiring trip. We hope to do it again next year!