What does The Whale Rider mean to you?
To celebrate the release of The Star Path—Witi Ihimaera Smiler’s epic sequel to The Whale Rider —we’re inviting readers across Aotearoa to share their stories.
Send us a short video telling us what The Whale Rider means to you and how it has impacted, moved, or inspired you and you could be featured in a special tribute video for Witi at the launch of The Star Path.
Submission guidelines:
- Film a video of up to 60 seconds, shot landscape, telling us what The Whale Rider means to you.
- Upload your video via the form below by 11.59pm, Sunday 12 September 2026.
- By submitting a video, you confirm that you are happy for Penguin Random House New Zealand to edit and share it across its promotional and social media channels. Participants under 18 will need permission from a parent or guardian.
And if you're in Pōneke, we'd love to see you at the launch of The Star Path!
1-2pm, Saturday 3rd October
Ngā Pou Ruahine, Level 2, Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Central Library
A young whale searches for the whale rider's heir and a teenager takes an epic voyage to Antarctica with a fleet of waka hourua to claim his lost inheritance, in this breathtaking return to the world of global hit The Whale Rider, over thirty years on.
Writing about the Māori world, both rural and urban, often knocking into the Pākehā status quo, Witi Ihimaera’s writing has always offered a broader view of what New Zealand literature could be – should be – about.
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