Contributors

Sohaila Abdulali is a native of Bombay and a transplanted native of New York. She writes for a living and also for fun. Her latest book is What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape, published worldwide in eight languages so far. She is the author of the novels The Madwoman of Jogare and Year of the Tiger, as well as four children’s books - the RangBibi and Langra series. Her short fiction and non-fiction has been published internationally, and it includes five years of a column on gender in Mint,  an op-ed in the New York Times that broke readership records, and many pieces on topics ranging from criminal justice to malaria control to development issues. She writes grants, website copy, reports, stories, and anything else. She and her laptop have found themselves in unexpected places, from Samoa to Utrecht to Jaipur, pondering the world. Find Sohaila or contact her through www.sohailaink.com.

Poet and performer Hinemoana Baker traces her Māori ancestry from tribes in both the North and South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Her poetry collections, original music albums and other sonic and written work have seen her on stages and pages in many countries around world for the last 25 years. in 2023, her most recent poetry collection, Funkhaus, was published in Germany as a bilingual volume (English and German, translated by Ulrike Almut Sandig) by Voland & Quist | AZUR Edition. More information at: www.hinemoana.co.nz

Emelihter Kihleng is from Pohnpei Island, Micronesia and was raised there, on Guam and in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She is Curator Pacific Cultures at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and has held curatorial fellowships at the Denver Art Museum in Colorado and the MARKK - Museum am Rothenbaum in Hamburg. Poetry is Emeli's first love and her first collection, My Urohs, was published by Kahuaomānoa Press in 2008. She co-edited Indigenous Literatures of Micronesia (University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2020) and has published poetry in various literary journals. 

Stacey Kokaua and Hamish Kokaua are siblings who have Ngāti Arerā ō Rarotonga, Ngāti Pāmati and Pākehā heritage. They live with their kōpū tangata (family) in different locations along the Otago Peninsula. Stacey is a writer who has published essays and short stories and is currently completing a PhD in Pacific Literary Studies at the University of Otago. Hamish is a coder and produces music under Scapegoat Mercy. The Weaving the narrative project is their first collaborative project.

Stacey Kokaua (Ngāti Arerā ō Rarotonga, Ngāti Pāmati and Pākehā) is a writer who lives in Parihaumia in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Her work has featured in Landfall, Pantograph Punch, Turbine | Kapohau and Tatou Publishing's Vā: Stories by Women of the Moana Anthology. She is currently working on a PhD in Pacific Literary Studies at the University of Otago that explores eco-critical themes in Cook Islands literature. Find her on Instagram @stacey.kokaua 

Taputukura Raea is of Cook Island descent from the beautiful islands of Mauke, Pamati, Rarotonga and Tahiti. She grew up in Paraparaumu in Wellington, New Zealand. She has a MSc in Marine Biology and previously worked with Māori and Pacific students to revitalise Mātauranga Māori and Pacific traditions in New Zealand schools. As the Engagement Manager at the National Library of New Zealand she is committed to building connections between Pacific communities who would like to share their stories and the GLAM sector that holds items of Pacific heritage. 

Kia orana tatou katotoa i te aroa ma’ata o to tatou atu ko iesu mesia. Te karanga nei te para pore “Auraka taau kia riro i te ta’i kē”. Ko Taputukura tōku ingoa, E tamaine au na Caroline Marsters raua ko Mouauri Raea. Tōku Metua tane no Mauke, mai (Ngaputoru) Ngati Akatauira, Manihiki, Rakahanga. Ko Raea to ingoa kopu tangata Tōku Metua vaine, No Pamati, Rakahanga, Tongareva, Rarotonga, Ngati Pera, Ngati io, No Tahiti uānga Pomare ete uānga Dean. Ko Marsters to ingoa kopu tangata. E no’o ana au ki Raumati Beach. E angaanga ana au ki Poneke, roto ite National Library. Tōku taoanga Engagement manitia.

Natasha Ratuva (she/her) is a Taukei (Kadavu vasu i Bua) multi-disciplinary creative based on Ngāti Rākaiwhakairi whenua in Aotearoa, NZ. Natasha's practice spans the mediums of photography, digital art, poetry, gardening and Taukei traditional practices. Recently, Natasha has brought masi (indigenous Fijian barkcloth) to the forefront of her creative practice. Masi is deepy integral to Taukei culture and tradition, often present in ceremonies throughout a person's life. Natasha uses natural pigments and dyes to carefully hand paint traditional patterns and contemporary compositions onto masi to reimagine and expand expressions of her Taukei identity.

Catherine Wallace is a writer and award-winning editor with a passion for the art and anthropology of journalism. In fellowships and in the newsrooms of several of Canada’s leading newspapers, she has explored the connecting force of storytelling and how to expand its power in cultural and urban spheres. 

Born in Isfahan (Iran), Zam Zadeh is a director, illustrator and storyteller. She has a background in speculative narration, visual arts, and digital storytelling. Her work has been shown in South Korea, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and Belgium.

In 2020, her virtual reality project based on the poetry of Omar Khayyam - Glad that I came, not sorry to depart, received a jury Prize at the Anima Festival.

See her website: https://www.zamzadeh.com/