Pacific publisher achieves global recognition

A Pacific publishing house has won a prestigious award at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy - the world’s largest event of its kind.

Dahlia Malaeulu, the founder of Mila’s Books, says she was “excited, shocked, surprised, grateful, humbled”.

“Everyone who is anyone attends this book fair from around the world, and they have these awards that acknowledge top publishers in children's publishing from each region - and we were the winners for Oceania.”

Mila’s Books was the only finalist from New Zealand, competing against four Australian publishing houses.

Despite not having a degree in publishing or writing, Malaeulu (Sinamoga, Vaivase in Sāmoa) started Mila’s Books in 2019 as a “little passion project”.

“It was really just for my sons,” Malaeulu says. “ I literally wanted to write stories that I wished I had growing up. We've now been able to publish the voices of over 100 Pasifika peoples, tamaiti teachers and elders.”

Malaeulu, who has experience as a teacher, highlighted the impact of her work in championing Pacific storytelling and connecting with 10,000 students and teachers each year.

“We have kids who come up to us constantly and are like, ‘that's my grandpa in that book’ or ‘my papa, he's got that pattern on him’, it's world changing.

“When you haven't been seen in a book your whole life, you kind of feel like you don't belong in it, or you don't feel like because you don't have flash words that you can't be a storyteller, and my journey has proven you absolutely can, and we absolutely should.”

Highs and lows

Malaeulu admits that entering the publishing industry is challenging, including learning the business and gaining support.

“Having to pave my own way in terms of Pasifika publishing, that's a term that I've been throwing around from the beginning, and people didn't know what it was.

"Having to establish connections with the world who weren’t used to what we were selling, who weren't used to the idea of something specifically for Pasifika in a variety of genres.”

She says the value of their work often differs from what some authors and collaborators expect.

Mila's Books champion Pacific stories, characters and writers. Photo/Instagram

“In their world, it's been quite driven by the commercial side of things, it has to be profitable, whereas the profit for me was our tamaiti and the culture, and how we're going to actually connect those two.”

Mila’s Books has also launched a ‘Tusitala’ mentoring programme, which supports five participants in expressing their stories and creativity in writing.

“All of our mentees have said to me in the past, before I convinced them to join our programme, that they're not writers,” Malaeulu says.

“And I have always preached, even when I was in the classroom, that it's not about writing, it's about story, and you are a storyteller, you do it through your arts.”

Watch the full interview of Dahlia Malaeulu and Wainuiomata Intermediate students Leviticus Togia and Isabella Peniata on the launch of their classroom book, Whose Your Name?

Malaeulu says that being the only all-Pacific publishing team enhances their work in ways that might not be reflected in mainstream publishing.

“When we go through our mentoring programme, we make sure that the level of care, understanding, support and alofa for our creators and our storytellers' words, their ancestors who have helped them to gain these experiences that have led to these words as well, are respected, that it's all upheld.

“We start this journey together, we end it together, and to be honest, as islanders, we never end the journey. We know each other for life, so it's almost like building a village of storytellers, and we're just aiga.”

Looking ahead

Mila’s Books has an exciting year planned, featuring new book releases, international workshops, and a tour for a book by former Miss Pacific Islands and Miss Sāmoa Moemoana Schwenke, ‘I Love My Island’.

"We’re constantly on the lookout for new storytellers, and there will be more stories to come at the end of the year," Malaeulu says.

Through storytelling, her goal is to continue ensuring that Pasifika children and their cultures are represented in literature.

"The world is almost waking up to what we’ve already known about our tamaiti, our people, our stories, our languages, our culture – they are our crown, they’re our superpower."

Proud readers and authors of Mila's Books. Photo/Supplied