Moana George

Moana George writes: ‘I was born in Whakatane in 1974, the second oldest of four children. My mother is of Scottish-Irish descent and was raised in Vanuatu. My father in Māori and grew up at Horohoro outside of Rotorua. Everyone has pivotal events in their life and mine were moving from Whakatane to Waipu when I was nine and the death of my grandfather when I was twelve. I never really felt I fitted in up north and started writing as a way of either escaping or trying to make sense of the world I was living in. After my grandfather died, my writing also became an outlet for and expression of the pain and emptiness I felt inside. ‘The Glass Room’ was the conclusion of that grieving process. Writing is my passion and my dream has always been to become a full-time writer – some day. For now I am enjoying working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs..’.

Biographical sources

• Huia Short Stories 3. Wellington, N.Z.: Huia, 1999. 243.