Brianne Te Paa

Brianne Te Paa (born 1984) is a New Zealand writer and schoolteacher. Her children's picture book Kua Whetūrangitia A Koro (also published in English as How My Koro Became a Star) received the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for the best children's book in the Māori language at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2023.

Early life, education and teaching career Te Paa was born and grew up in South Kaipara, where she attended Kaipara College. After high school, she completed a full immersion course in te reo Māori. She has a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Auckland and a diploma in Te Pinakitanga ki Te Reo Kairangi from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

Kua Whetūrangitia A Koro won the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a children's book in te reo Māori at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2023. The judge's comments said:

The book also received the 2022 Storylines Te Kahurangi Kāterina Te Heikōkō Award for a te reo Māori book.