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Dahlia Malaeulu created Mila’s Books to ‘produce accessible and culturally rich Pasifika stories that reflect our Pasifika values, languages, cultures, and most importantly – our tamaiti.’ 

Mila’s Books has recently been shortlisted for the Bologna Prize for Best Children’s Publishers of the Year and so it seemed a great time, in conjunction with Kete’s Pasifika Books 2025, to speak to Dahlia about her initiative with the Pasifika Lit Hub, which has a truly exciting vision for Pasifika publishing and has recently added two new publishers - Paulini Turagabeci and Lani Wendt Young. 

Read on for Dahlia’s answers to our questions and for a reading list from the Pasifika Book Hub’s curated titles.

First of all, can you tell us, what is the Pasifika Book Hub? The Pasifika Book Hub is a much needed space that was created to support new Pasifika storytellers, connect people to our beautiful tagata o le moana stories and encourage the growth of Pasifika publishing.

There are so many reasons why a space like this is needed. Firstly, we at Mila’s Books know what it is like to start and travel this book journey alone and we really want to change this for the next generation of Pasifika publishers and storytellers by creating culturally safe spaces and supported book pathways. Secondly, there is a huge hunger and need for our stories, and in order to achieve our own mission of ensuring Pasifika tamaiti and peoples are seen, heard and valued in the stories they read, we need access to stories from Pasifika storytellers more than ever before. So the Pasifika Hub is really a go-to space for all of this.

Wow – that’s a really wide-reaching goal. Go you! Tell us more about what you’ll include on the site? To support the goal of offering insights, support, and guidance for new and emerging Pasifika publishers, the Pasifika Books Hub intends to include advice and success stories from both Pasifika and non-Pasifika independent publishers. The focus will be on sharing practical guidance and strategies for navigating the publishing landscape. By featuring content from a variety of independent publishers, the hub aims to provide a platform for sharing knowledge within the developing Pasifika publishing ecosystem. There are truly endless possibilities with the book hub in the future,  which might even include articles or blog posts covering topics such as manuscript preparation, navigating distribution channels, marketing strategies, and building a sustainable business model.

I believe independent publishing is a real vehicle for change for our people, allowing us to take control of our own narratives and producing them in culturally safe and supported ways; by us, for all of us.

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The Pasifika books listed on the book side of the Hub are an epic collection. It must be a tough section to curate, given the breadth and depth of the literature available? How do you intend to update this going forward? Curating the Pasifika books section of the Hub is not as difficult as some people seem to think due to the limited, but growing titles authored by tagata o le moana. Quarterly updates are planned to keep the collection fresh, recognising that Pasifika titles aren't published as frequently as others. This space is for titles authored by tagata o le moana which is something we must emphasise. To avoid one author dominating a category or genre, this section will always be curated and the book genres will remain broad, reflecting the demand for more diverse Pasifika storytellers across all genres. For this reason we are excited to connect with more independent publishers from around the world and look forward to the day when selecting Pasifika titles becomes a challenge due to the abundance of options. Moving forward, we have a clear focus on showcasing and sharing titles by tagata o le moana to collectively show we are here, and we are storytellers. This is why we believe supporting independent publishing is crucial for us as Pasifika here in Aotearoa because it empowers us to control our narratives and shows the next generation of Pasifika storytellers what is possible. A journey to publication is often fraught with rejections, stress, rewrites, and editing. Will you be providing details of Pasifika publishers that have open submissions, and routes to self-publication?

Shining a light on the various routes to self-publication is definitely on our radar for the reasons mentioned previously. We’ve noticed a growing demand for advice among budding independent publishers and those seeking tagata o le moana authored titles. So in order to meet growing demand we need to support the growth of Pasifika publishers. We also must acknowledge the reality that many independent Pasifika publishers operate without the resources of larger publishing houses and do not necessarily have the capacity to be open to submissions. There are not many Pasifika publishers, and those who I personally know also work a full time job. This is why I believe we really need to be working towards increasing the visibility of Pasifika across all levels of the NZ book industry. Visit Mila’s Books and the Pasifika Book Hub to read more and to explore the collection of titles on the Hub. We have included a reading list of some titles below but do head to the Hub for the full collection!