Kimberley Kearney
Kimberley Ngareta Kearney (1984–) is a proud author, educator, mother, and bookworm. She spent her life enveloped in stories and proudly claims the title of lifelong bookworm and storyteller. She grew up in Cambridge and attended the University of Waikato, achieving a Bachelor of Teaching, a Diploma in Te Tohu Paetahi, and a Certificate in Early Childhood Education. This was the beginning of her journey to reconnect with her Māori heritage, te reo, and her community and tamariki. Kimberley spent many years as a primary school teacher where she cultivated a love for sharing stories with young minds, which she now shares with her three daughters.
Kimberly’s journey of reconnection and revitalisation inspired a deep passion for uplifting Māori and indigenous cultures and a determination to share that love within her books. In 2022, she began writing the manuscript for what would soon become The Lost Words, a heartwarming account of a mother’s journey through the rich tapestry of te reo Māori as told through the eyes of her daughter.
The Lost Words was subsequently shortlisted for the 2023 Storylines Joy Cowley Award for unpublished manuscripts and was thereafter picked up by the Little Moa Books imprint of Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand. Following its publication in 2025, it hit Aotearoa New Zealand’s Bestsellers list in both August and September and has received international attention since. The Lost Words is illustrated by Taylor Terewai Tiave (Ngāpuhi) and features illustrations in te reo Māori.
Kimberley now lives in the Bay of Plenty with her family, who share her efforts to revitalise te reo within their whānau, and balances her love for storytelling with a love for travel, being ever curious about new places and ideas. This enthusiasm shines through in her participation in Read NZ Te Pou Muramura’s Writers In Schools: Pōkai Tuhi Programme and her participation in both the Schools Programme and the Pukapuka Adventure sessions at the 2026 Auckland Writers Festival.
With her kete full of props and games, Kimberley continues to spread the joy of reading and stories with tamariki through her school visits and books.
