Darryn (Ngāti Maniapoto) is a Palmerston North-based academic, writer and pāpā of three. He has written in te reo Māori short stories, board books, picture books, chapter books, and textbooks. Darryn holds a PhD written in te reo from Massey University and his doctoral dissertation on kīpeha, figures of speech, helped inform his early works. Hewa (2009) won the Te Kura Pounamu Award at the LIANZA Children’s Book Awards, and ‘Tama Tāhae Tama Ora’ (2003) and ‘Taku Ao, Tō Mate Kanehe’ (2015) both won the Pikihuia Award Best Short Story in Māori. Darryn’s picturebook Whakarongo ki ō Tūpuna with illustrator Munro Te Whata won first equal in the 2020 New Zealand Society of Authors Heritage Book Awards.
In recent years Darryn has worked with multiple Māori authors, editors and their publishers and given reo guidance and reo Māori editorial advice where needed: Paula Morris and Auckland University Press, Hiwa: Contemporary Māori Short Stories; Gavin Bishop and Gecko Press E Hoa; Airana Ngarewa and Moa Press Pātea Boys; Hona Black and Oratia He Iti te Kupu Māori Metaphors and Similes; Hinemoa Elder and Penguin Waitohu. Working with Keri Opai, he translated Donovan Bixley’s Māui picture books and has since translated Donovan’s Ki te Moe Aotearoa, Te Rā Kura ki Aotearoa and Kia Ora Pēpi.
Darryn, or Tākuta Hōhepa, his pen name from 20 years ago, is working on the fourth instalment in the sci-fi series Rangi Tautoru – RT3: Ki Tua o Rangiātea (2004), RT3: Ki Tua o K-t-Pae (2005), and RT3: Ki Tua o Tāwauwau (2006).
Darryn is currently the Vice Chair of NZ Read Te Pou Muramura, and was a trustee for five years on Storylines Children’s Literature Charitable Trust Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa . He has been a judge for the Storylines Kahurangi Katerina Te Heikōkō Mataira Literary Award for five years. Darryn also has proudly worked as the Māori editor with Toitoi – A Journal For Young Writers and Artists since 2017.