> Skip to content

News  •  10 May 2023

 

Māori poet and photographer Trinity Thompson-Browne wins 2023 Māori and Pacific Publishing Scholarship

Trinity Thompson-Browne has been awarded the 2023 Māori and Pacific Publishing Scholarship thanks to a collaboration with Whitireia Community Polytechnic Limited and Penguin Random House New Zealand (PRH).

The scholarship offers funding for a Māori or Pacific student to study the Graduate Diploma in Publishing at Whitireia. It also includes hands-on experience twice a year at Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading publishing house, Penguin Random House.

The PRH NZ Māori and Pacific scholarship was created in 2020 to reduce barriers to equity, and encourage diversity and inclusivity in publishing in Aotearoa.

Thompson-Browne (Ngāti Kahungunu, Muaūpoko), is a well-known poet and photographer working with Māori organisations, whānau Māori, toi Māori and tāmoko practitioners.

Last year, Thompson-Browne, alongside fellow writer and poet Rangimarie Sophie Jolley, co-curated events on behalf of Te Hā o Ngā Kaituhi Māori in Verb Readers & Writers Festival 2022. Before this, they worked at Ariki Creative, where they edited the English version of the creative studio’s book, The Story of Waihiko, which aims to give tamariki Māori a way to understand technology from a te ao Māori perspective.

Thompson-Browne is a finalist for the biennial Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award 2023 for their poem searching for haana hirini, a poem about finding the names in your whakapapa lines even when those lines have been fractured by colonisation. Their upcoming debut, three-volume, bilingual box collection of poetry i am navigator will be released on July 14th at the rising of Matariki this year.

They work part time managing Ihorei Gallery, a small, whānau Māori-run gallery that recently coordinated two widescale national art auctions and raised over $73,000 for whānau affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. They were also prominent in the local media after playing a key role in the banning of conversion therapy in Aotearoa during 2021 and 2022, sharing their story with Re: News and speaking at parliament.

Thompson-Browne says this scholarship will help them to support other Māori writers and their aspirations for story sovereignty, as well as continuing to explore different ways to self-publish at and above industry standard, where all the hands Māori stories pass through are also Māori, from inception to print.

“To be in a position where I can actively stress-test my self-publishing knowledge base, week in, week out, against industry practice is incredibly invigorating. I am so thankful to be in this course and to be chosen for this scholarship. Serving my communities with the knowledge and skills learnt from this course is something I am really looking forward to. I cannot recommend this course, and this scholarship, enough. It is nothing short of life changing.”

Photo: supplied. Photo by Elisha Taueki.
Photo: supplied. Photo by Elisha Taueki.

 

Head of Publishing at PRH Claire Murdoch says:

“Trinity blew me away in our interview with their insights, curiosity and intelligence. The contribution they will make to our industry is already unmistakable. We are delighted to enable Trinity to sharpen their already impressive publishing instincts and gain new skills at Whitireia.”  

Senior publishing tutor at Whitireia Odessa Owens says:

“Trinity’s demonstrated commitment to story sovereignty and empowering Māori writers and publishers makes them an invaluable part of the Whitireia Publishing class of 2023. We’re thrilled to support Trinity in their journey with this scholarship.”

More info here: Penguin Random House Māori and Pacific Publishing Scholarship

More features

See all
News
Call for applications for Māori and Pacific Publishing Scholarship 2024

Applications are open for the 2024 Penguin Random House Māori and Pacific Publishing Scholarship.

Article
So you want to get published? The publishing team at Penguin Random House New Zealand share their top tips.

Why do I even need a publisher? How do I write for kids? What are publishers looking for right now? Should I send a sample chapter? Do you accept science fiction books?

News
NZ Booklovers Awards 2025 - Winners Announced

​The Space Between by Lauren Keenan has won Best Adult Fiction Book at the 2025 NZ Booklovers Awards.

News
Jacinda Ardern to publish debut picture book with Penguin Random House NZ

Mum's Busy Work by Jacinda Ardern is set for international release on September 30, 2025.

News
2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Shortlist

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are the country’s premier literary honours for books written by New Zealanders.

News
NZ Booklovers Awards 2025 Shortlist

See the Penguin Random House NZ books shortlisted for the 2025 NZ Booklovers Awards

News
Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2025 Longlist

The longlists for the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards have been announced.

News
Penguin Random House New Zealand to publish Jacinda Ardern's Memoir

A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir by Jacinda Ardern is set for international release on June 3, 2025.

News
Dame Lynley Dodd is recognised with the 2024 Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement

Three outstanding New Zealand writers recognised with the 2024 Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement

News
Richard Flanagan's Question 7 wins the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

He is the first author to have ever won both the Booker Prize and Baillie Gifford Prize.

News
Orbital by Samantha Harvey wins the Booker Prize 2024

Compact yet beautifully expansive, Orbital invites us to observe Earth’s splendour, whilst reflecting on the individual and collective value of every human life.

News
Call for applications for Māori and Pacific Publishing Scholarship

Applications are open for the 2025 Penguin Random House Māori and Pacific Publishing Scholarship.

Looking for more news?

See all news