Sam Gibson, author of Sam The Trap Man.
Gisborne outdoorsman, environmentalist and now author Sam Gibson has been named one of the New Voices of Aotearoa for his first book, Sam the Trap Man: Cracking Yarns And Tall Tales From The Bush.
New Voices of Aotearoa is a competition initiated by The Coalition For Books “aimed at amplifying recipients for their career potential”, a press release said.
Gibson is one of 10 named on the inaugural New Voices of Aotearoa list.
The others are Una Cruickshank, Kate Evans, NZME radio host Matt Heath, Judy Mohr, Olive Nuttall, Michelle Rahurahu, Josie Shapiro, Saraid de Silva and Gavin Strawhan.
Gibson’s book spent six weeks in the Non-fiction Adults section of the Aotearoa New Zealand Bestseller Lists after it was released in August last year.
“Sam Gibson is a yarn-spinner that could keep anyone engaged, and his writing ushers in a new generation of tall tales from the bush with a new and ever-increasing love for ngahere [forests], awa [rivers] and moana [oceans]," the New Voices of Aotearoa judges said.
Gibson said the recognition was unexpected.
“It’s nice to know the feedback from the book has been really good and we were blown away when we heard we’re going to be recognised in that way.
“It sort of cements your confidence a bit as an author when you’re new and you don’t really know the industry, and you don’t really know what you’re doing ... as your first book, it’s kind of a nice piece of recognition, I guess.”
The book emphasises his connection to nature and the bush – something he encourages young people keen on nature to embrace.
“Just getting out there, getting amongst it, is really key, but also slowing down, with our interactions with the bush ... noticing [what] each tree is and what their relationships are with us and what their jobs are in the landscape is pretty key to becoming a good bushman.
“I love that. [The] bush is always wanting to support us. It provides us calm and it brings us back to a place of wellness.
“One of my favourite things about being in the bush is being able to support the bush ... and I do that through predator control and hunting and that sort of thing.”
Gibson spent a lot of time working in Te Urewera and that experience is recounted in the book.
Te Urewera was given environmental personhood status in 2014 after a Waitangi Tribunal settlement.
Gibson, however, has always seen Te Urewera that way.
“It’s never not been a living being ... that legislative change, it’s just keeping in the way with our world view, I guess.”
He also has advice for other would-be Kiwi authors.
“In our back-country culture. In our back-country farms, or in the bush, we’ve got a real colloquial way of speaking and a real strength in our ability to tell stories and yarns.
“Many New Zealanders ... many people around the world love that way of speaking ... love that way of storytelling.
“We’re sitting on an absolute resource ... there’s a lot of great humour and a lot of great colloquialisms and I think that the world has a real appetite for it.”
Key to storytelling was “to make sure that we write in the same style that we talk”.
Gibson said he read a lot of historical fiction growing up.
“I really love stories about Genghis Khan or Japanese culture ... warrior culture and things like that.
“I grew up reading that stuff in one hand and then at the same time, I grew up reading Barry Crump and Philip Holden.”
Not surprisingly, he found “my voice more closely aligned with similar stories to Barry Crump“.
Gibson acknowledged the part his family and friends played in his writing.
“Working on a book, or a large project like a book, takes a lot of energy, so I just want to acknowledge my wife. She’s just as much a part of it, but also my kids and my friends who appear in the pages within the book.
“Without getting out and having those adventures together and being able to live the lifestyle we do with our community, we wouldn’t be able to write the book.”