Sir Tīmoti Kāretu is one of three recipients of the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in 2020. He is a leading New Zealand academic of Māori language and the performing arts, a translator and author, as well as a key driver in the revitalisation of te reo. Kāretu’s varied career has seen him become the first Māori language commissioner, work as a professor at the University of Hawaii, translate nine songs from English to Māori for the chart-topping album Waiata/Anthems and won the Māori Language Award at the Ockham NZ Book Awards in 2019 – the first time it had been awarded in seven years.

John Campbell hosts an interactive panel with the 2020 Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement recipients; Tessa Duder (fiction), Sir Tīmoti Kāretu (non-fiction) and Jenny Bornholdt (poetry).