UH Press Titles Honored at 2013 Ka Palapala Po‘okela Awards

Last Friday the Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association announced the winners of this year’s Ka Palapala Po‘okela book awards at a ceremony at the Hawai‘i State Library. UH Press titles were recognized with seven of the twenty awards, including the top Samuel M. Kamakau Award for Hawai‘i Book of the Year, which was bestowed on Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory, by Anwei Skinsnes Law with design by Julie Matsuo-Chun. In addition, the book tied as the winner of the Award of Excellence in the Hawaiian Language, Culture and History category and received an honorable mention in Nonfiction.

Author Anwei Law accepts an award for Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory from HBPA president David DeLuca. (photo courtesy of HBPA)

Warm accolades also went to these UH Press titles and their authors:

Ancestry of Experience: A Journey into Hawaiian Ways of Knowing, by Leilani Holmes — Winner (tie) of the Award of Excellence in Hawaiian Language, Culture & History

Leilani Holmes shares her award with husband Ivan Holmes, designer of Ancestry of Experience.

I Respectfully Dissent: A Biography of Edward H. Nakamura, by Tom Coffman — Winner of the Award of Excellence in Nonfiction

Loulu: The Hawaiian Palm, by Donald R. Hodel — Winner of the Award of Excellence in Natural Science

The ‘Ukulele: A History, by Jim Tranquada and John King — Winner of the Award of Excellence in Special-Interest Books

Read the Hawaii Book Blog post on the event for complete results. See more photos on the HBPA website.

May 2013 Author Events

It’s a busy month on the Hawai‘i homefront, with several authors visiting from elsewhere, as well as annual events—Ka Palapala Po‘okela awards and Hawai‘i Book & Music Festival.

Thursday, May 9
7:30 p.m., University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Art Auditorium
Hawaiian Historical Society will present a special two-part program examining the history of the leprosy settlement at Kalaupapa, seen from the perspective of the patients and families who lived there. UH Press authors Kerri Inglis and Anwei Law will give separate presentations based on their respective books, Ma‘i Lepera: Disease and Displacement in Nineteenth-Century Hawai‘i and Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory. For complete details on this free event, see the HHS post.

Friday, May 10
5:30-8:00 p.m., Hawai‘i State Library
Anticipation is building! Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association will announce the winners of this year’s Ka Palapala Po‘okela awards. Read our previous post here.

Saturday, May 11
11 a.m. to 3 p.m., San Diego Zoo
Donald Hodel will be at the ZooStore to sign copies of his book, Loulu: the Hawaiian Palm. (Unlike the others, this event, obviously, is in San Diego rather than Hawai‘i.)

Saturday, May 11
4:00-5:30 p.m., Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai‘i
Come to the book talk/signing with Leilani Holmes on Ancestry of Experience. See the earlier post for details.

Saturday-Sunday, May 18 & 19
All day, Frank F. Fasi Civic Center next to Honolulu Hale
Plan your weekend around the Hawai‘i Book & Music Festival—visit http://hawaiibookandmusicfestival.com/ to see the complete schedule and map. Several UH Press authors will be presenters and please visit our booth near the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities pavilion.

Monday, May 20
7:00-8:30 p.m., Lyman Museum & Mission House, Hilo
Sandra Bonura coauthor of An American Girl in the Hawaiian Islands: Letters of Carrie Prudence Winter, 1890-1893, will speak about the book and its fascinating backstory. Visit Dr. Bonura’s website to learn more.

Friday, May 31
4:00 p.m., Neal S. Blaisdell Center
Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory will be receiving a Preservation Media Award from the Historic Hawaii Foundation. The award ceremony will take place at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu in the Pīkake Room at 4:00 pm. A reception will follow the presentation program. Tickets to the awards ceremony may be purchased for $45 each (HHF members) or $60 (general admission). Click here for more information.

2013 Ka Palapala Po‘okela Awards: UH Press Nominees

The annual Ka Palapala Po‘okela Awards are presented by Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association to honor Hawai‘i’s finest books and their authors, illustrators, designers, and publishers. This year’s awards presentation is scheduled for Friday, May 10, 5:30 to 8 p.m., at the Hawai‘i State Library, 478 South King Street. The Library is cosponsoring the awards as part of their Centennial Anniversary celebration.

Titles with a 2012 copyright date were eligible this year. Here are our nominees:

Native Paths to Volunteer Trails: Hiking and Trail Building on O‘ahu, by Stuart M. Ball, Jr.
(Excellence in Special-Interest Books)

If It Swings, It’s Music: The Autobiography of Hawai‘i’s Gabe Baltazar Jr., by Gabe Baltazar Jr. with Theo Garneau
(Excellence in Nonfiction)

An American Girl in the Hawaiian Islands: Letters of Carrie Prudence Winter, 1890-1893, edited by Sandra Bonura and Deborah Day
(Excellence in Nonfiction)

I Respectfully Dissent: A Biography of Edward H. Nakamura, by Tom Coffman
(Excellence in Nonfiction)

Loulu: The Hawaiian Palm, by Donald R. Hodel
(Excellence in Natural Science)

Ancestry of Experience: A Journey into Hawaiian Ways of Knowing, by Leilani Holmes
(Excellence in Hawaiian Language, Culture & History)

Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory, by Anwei Skinsnes Law
(Excellence in Hawaiian Language, Culture & History; Excellence in Nonfiction; Excellence in Design)

Hawai‘i’s Mauna Loa Observatory: Fifty Years of Monitoring the Atmosphere, by Forrest M. Mims III
(Excellence in Natural Science)

The ‘Ukulele: A History, by Jim Tranquada and John King
(Excellence in Special-Interest Books)

The Painted King: Art, Activism, and Authenticity in Hawai‘i, by Glenn Wharton
(Excellence in Special-Interest Books)

Kudos to all!

UH Press at HBPA Holiday Events

As a member of the Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association (HBPA), University of Hawai‘i Press will participate in two Honolulu events hosted by fellow publishers this month.

Saturday, December 8, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Holiday Warehouse Sale
Local book publishers will feature their new releases, bestsellers, and holiday-themed titles at special prices. UH Press will focus on a selection of our most recent books on Hawai‘i. Come join the fun at the Bess Press Warehouse, 3565 Harding Avenue, in Kaimuki (park at the municipal lot across the street). Other participating publishers include host Bess Press, Bamboo Ridge Press, Bishop Museum Press, Calabash Books/Belknap Publishing, Kamehameha Publishing, and Watermark Publishing.

Wednesday, December 12, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Downtown Holiday Book Fair
This brief but power-packed event will be an opportunity for busy downtown workers to check off their holiday gift-giving lists! As above, we’ll bring our latest Hawai‘i titles, plus a few surprises. Look for the pop-up fair at the Cades Schutte Building lanai, in front of 24-Fitness and Territorial Savings, 1000 Bishop Street (‘ewa-mauka corner of King and Bishop Streets). Other participating publishers include host Watermark Publishing, Bamboo Ridge Press, Bess Press, Calabash Books/Belknap Publishing, Island Paradise Publishing, Kamehameha Publishing, and Slate Ridge Press.

For more information, email Carol Abe in the UH Press marketing department.