Shilo Kino
Shilo Kino (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Maniapoto) is an award-winning writer and journalist. The Pōrangi Boy is her first book and the winner of The Young Adult book of the year at the Children and Young Adult NZ Book Awards in 2021. She was a TV journalist for Marae and has written for Newsroom, NZ Herald, The Spinoff, The Pantograph Punch, The Guardian and North and South. She studied full immersion Te reo Māori last year and wrote a regular column for Newsroom about her journey as well as co-hosted a podcast Back to Kura with Astley Nathan.
Shilo is passionate about Te Ao Māori and also speaks fluent Mandarin. This year Shilo is working on her second book, a Young Adult fiction novel based in Tāmaki that follows the lives of rangatahi Māori who struggle with race, relationships, and identity.
What does leadership look like to you?
Shilo: Aroha ki te tangata. Love the people. It sounds simple but that’s what leadership is. A great leader is someone who emulates love, who is selfless and who listens more and talks less.
What are you hoping to get out of this experience?
Shilo: I’m looking forward to learning from other wāhine in the creative space, how they navigate their way through challenges and just building a strong community and friendship.
How does your community show up in your practice?
Shilo: Working in the writing and journalism space as a Māori wahine has its own challenges. I have been incredibly blessed to have the support of strong indigenous wāhine such as Stacey Morrison, Miriama Kamo, Karlo Mila and Nadine Anne Hura. These wāhine toa were crucial in the early days of my mahi as I was still navigating unsafe spaces and grasping my own identity and where I wanted to go. The way they showed up to tautoko- support me- with no reason but to simply awhi me, love me, remind me I’m not alone, listen and offer wisdom and advice, has been a fundamental reason why I’m still here in the creative space. I’m beyond grateful. E mihi ana aroha ki ōku tuakana! Nōku te waimarie.
