The cage fighter who became a teacher who became a writer
Before he was a best-selling author, before he was a teacher, before he was a cage fighter, Airana Ngawera’s first love was Pātea.
The 28-year-old, who is originally from the South Taranaki town and whose debut novel The Bone Tree spent 11 weeks at number 1 on the best seller list, will release his second book, Pātea Boys, in August.
Before that though, he will discuss his career as a writer as part of Taranaki’s Winter Fest’s literary programme Speakeasy, which aims to excite, entertain, inspire and provoke big feelings and deep thinking.
“It’s my first opportunity to bring a story about Taranaki to Taranaki.
“These stories are inspired by the people I spend my days with so it’s right I bring it back to them.”
Ngawera, who pursued professional cage fighting when he left school, doesn’t like to focus on the high sales of the book. Sales will come and go, he said. “More than the success the book’s had in terms with sales, it’s the community I’ve managed to build from the book’s success that I have derived the most from.”
Recently, he was able to spend three days at Noho Marae with some of Aotearoa’s most well known authors such as Witi Ihimaera, Patricia Grace, and Haare Williams, which he was incredibly grateful for.
This week, he will speak to two soldout theatres of high school students as part of the Auckland Writers Festival.
It’s an event that combines two facets of his career - writing and being a high school teacher.
Ngawera didn’t have a positive school experience and when he left school never intended to return to an education setting like it again.
However, for the last five years he has been a teacher at Spotswood College in New Plymouth and is part of the senior leadership team.
“I’ve tried to dedicate a lot of my adult life to being in service and especially to this next generation coming through.
“I tend to work closest with those kids that are having the hardest time in education and who struggle to fit in, so I work with them and their whānau to try and do as best we can by them.”
Despite having a published novel and another book on the way, Ngawera still doesn’t consider himself a writer.
At Winter Fest, he will be interviewed by former Spotswood College teacher Steph Julian and will reflect on what brought him to writing and where he thinks it will take him.
In August, it will take him to the release of his second book Pātea Boys, a collection of short stories in English and te reo Māori.
“Reading and writing is really difficult for our young people but it’s easier if they see themselves in the material.
“Pātea is a really important place to me. It’s a huge part for me and my family’s identity.”
Airana Ngawera’s Winter Fest show is on Saturday, June 15 at 12pm. Tickets are $25 and available from 4thwalltheatre.co.nz.