Last week saw the Auckland Writers Festival very much alive in our city. I did not attend many events as the week was already flooded with other activities. I wish to write about one event though, of a discussion between Tracey Morrison (Te Arawa, Ngāi Tahu), a well-known New Zealand broadcaster, and Monty Soutar ONZM (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngā Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Kahungunu). They talked about his latest book Kāwai, a shortlisted novel for the recent Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Monty has received commendations and awards for his scholastic achievements and work to raise the understanding of the history of Māori in many fields, and Kāwai is his first venture into writing fiction. If you are thinking that the discussion about his book might prove a little dry, or boring, you’d be wrong.

Kāwai is the first in a planned trilogy from Soutar. This book offers a vivid account of pre-colonial Māori history; an historical fiction that brought the past to life. It was great to have Tracey and Monty, both fluent te reo Māori speakers, punctuate the session with this language. They were relaxed in each other’s company, which overflowed to the audience. Monty was warm, friendly, and very funny when telling us just how this book came about. He had been asleep apparently, when he heard a word spoken, Roots. He explained it as an expression of wairua. His head was always full of things Māori, but he was determined to find out what this meant.

It was Alex Hayley’s book Roots he remembered, which told the story of one black family’s history across several generations. If he could just lay his hands on the book! He searched to find it and failed. Monty is clearly stubborn, as by now, he believed this presentiment was intending him to present a Māori family’s history in a similar way. One day, he was driving from Gisborne through to Auckland airport, when he and his wife stopped to look at a stack of books outside a shop. As he tells it, many old books were presented spine up, except for one. Yep, you guessed it. Roots! He read it while on a long holiday in Greece, and became inspired to bring his idea of an historical novel to life. There were further epiphanies, that told him to leave his job, sell his house, and write a series of books as a takoha – his gift to the nation. Incredibly his wife went along with the plan.

A generous award from The Michael King Fellowship 2021 helped to achieve this ambition. Monty told us he drew on a lifetime of research into the whakapapa and oral traditions of his own ancestors, but was determined this book would read as a novel. There was a good deal of re-writing needed, the editors said, before the manuscript became a flowing fictional narrative. And as all writers know, re-writing is hard repetitive work. But the hard work paid off, as Kāwai has been a top seller since its release last year. Watching and listening to Stacey and Monty, ping-ponging topics from one to the other, in such a natural and pleasant manner, was like being with friends. And the amount of spontaneous applause throughout the audience showed that others felt the same.

This event was the most interesting and entertaining book event I have experienced. I honestly could have sat through another hour. Good luck with your novel Monty and the rest of the trilogy to come.