Pacific Islanders in Publishing
Micronesia
Micronesians are people who are indigenous to any of the island groups of Chuuk, Guåhan, Kiribati, Kosrae, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Nauru, Palau, Pohnpei, and Yap.
Adult Fiction
Teresia Kieuea Teaiwa
I-Kiribati
(she/her)
Teresia Teaiwa is a distinguished award winning I-Kiribati and Black scholar, poet, and activist. She was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i, and was raised in Fiji. She's the author of the poetry collection, Searching for Nei Him'anoa (1995), and coauthor of Last Virgin in Paradise: A One-Act Play (1993, with Vilsoni Hereniko). Her creative work was also published in Terenesia: Amplified Poetry and Songs by Teresia Teaiwa and Sia Figiel (2000).
Children's Fiction
Makiia Lucier
CHamoru
(she/her)
Makiia Lucier is the author of Year of the Reaper, the Isle of Blood and Stone duology, and A Death-Struck Year.
She grew up on the Pacific island of Guam, not too far from the equator, and holds degrees in journalism and library science.
She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon. She is represented by Suzie Townsend.
Catherine Payne
CHamoru/Hawaiian
(she/her)
Catherine Payne has been a storyteller all her life. After earning master's degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University, she worked as a journalist in Michigan and Virginia. Several years later, she returned to her native Guam, where she works as an English instructor and tutor. Linktree
Anthology Editors
Evelyn Flores
CHamoru
(she/her)
Evelyn Flores is a professor of English at the University of Guam. Born on Guam, Flores obtained her Master's in English from Andrews University in Michigan, and her PhD in Pacific Islander Literature, Ethnic Literature, and late 19th-century American literature from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. Together with Dr. Kihleng, she put together the first ever anthology of Micronesian literature, Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia.
Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner
Marshallese
(she/her)
Kathy is a Marshall Islander poet, performance artist, and educator. She received international acclaim through her poetry performance at the opening of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in 2014. She is Climate Envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the director of Jo-Jikum, an environmental nonprofit.
Emelihter Kihleng
Pohnpeian
(she/her)
Emelihter Kihleng is a Pohnpeian poet. Born on Guam, she obtained a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and a PhD in Pacific Studies from the Victoria University of Wellington. She is the first ever Micronesian to publish a collection of poetry in English. Together with Evelyn Flores, Kihleng put together the first ever anthology of Micronesian literature, Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia.
Poetry
John Aguon
Chamorro
(he/him)
Julian Aguon is an Indigenous human rights lawyer and writer from Guam. He is the founder of Blue Ocean Law, a progressive firm that works at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice. He serves on the Global Advisory Council of Progressive International. He is represented by Duvall Osteen of Aragi Agency.
Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner
Marshallese
(she/her)
Kathy is a Marshall Islander poet, performance artist, and educator. She received international acclaim through her poetry performance at the opening of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in 2014. She is Climate Envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the director of Jo-Jikum, an environmental nonprofit.
Emelihter Kihleng
CHamoru
(she/her)
Emelihter Kihleng is a Pohnpeian poet. Born on Guam, she obtained a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and a PhD in Pacific Studies from the Victoria University of Wellington. She is the first ever Micronesian to publish a collection of poetry in English. Together with Evelyn Flores, Kihleng put together the first ever anthology of Micronesian literature, Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia.
Teresia Kieuea Teaiwa
I-Kiribati
(she/her)
Teresia Teaiwa is a distinguished award winning I-Kiribati and Black scholar, poet, and activist. She was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i, and was raised in Fiji. She's the author of the poetry collection, Searching for Nei Him'anoa (1995), and coauthor of Last Virgin in Paradise: A One-Act Play (1993, with Vilsoni Hereniko). Her creative work was also published in Terenesia: Amplified Poetry and Songs by Teresia Teaiwa and Sia Figiel (2000).
Memoir
Lenika Cruz
CHamoru
(she/her)
Formerly a senior editor covering culture at The Atlantic, Lenika recently decided to pursue her MFA. She is an indigenous writer and editor of Chamorro, Okinawan, and Filipino heritage from Guam. She's the author of Drown Sirena, and is represented by Lucy Carson with the Friedrich Agency.
Cookbooks
Nonfiction and Essays
John Aguon
Chamorro
(he/him)
Julian Aguon is an Indigenous human rights lawyer and writer from Guam. He is the founder of Blue Ocean Law, a progressive firm that works at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice. He serves on the Global Advisory Council of Progressive International. He is represented by Duvall Osteen of Aragi Agency.
Lenika Cruz
CHamoru
(she/her)
Formerly a senior editor covering culture at The Atlantic, Lenika recently decided to pursue her MFA. She is an indigenous writer and editor of Chamorro, Okinawan, and Filipino heritage from Guam. She's the author of Drown Sirena, and is represented by Lucy Carson with the Friedrich Agency.
Christine Taitano DeLisle
CHamoru
(she/her)
Christine (Tina) Taitano DeLisle is a CHamoru daughter of Guåhan (Guam) residing in Minneapolis. She's an Associate Professor in the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on Native Pacific Islander histories, especially women’s stories and the rewriting of Guåhan histories from a CHamoru. perspective.