Your Insider Guide to the 2023 Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival
Attend a writer’s workshop, listen to panels and support the local writing community at this three-day festival, returning in person for the first time since 2020.
The biggest literary event in the state, the Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival is back with in-person events for the first time since 2020. COVID-19 forced the festival to go virtual for three years, and Roger Jellinek, executive director, says they’ve opted to go hybrid moving forward, starting this year. For three days, you can listen to authors talk about their books, join panel discussions and attend a popular writers’ workshop.
The impressive lineup is full of local talents and senior writers like Donovan Colleps, Makana Eyre, Alain Gunn, Jasmin Iolani Hakes, Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, Scott Kikkawa, Patrick Vinton Kirch, Jessica Machado, Brandy MacDougall, Chris McKinney, Susanna Moore, Mindy Pennybacker and Tom Peek.
When and Where
The Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival will take place Friday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 22, via Zoom (links will be sent after you register) and at University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law, 2515 Dole St.
How Much It Costs
While attendance for most events is free, donations are accepted. A $25 donation is requested for the writer’s workshop. There is a fundraiser on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 5:30 p.m. with a champagne reception and a performance by renowned concert pianist Alpin Hong. Tickets are $99, and every $25 of new donations will go toward a Lahaina fund.
Where to Park
The main Quarry Parking Structure is right next to the Law School. The top floor exits about 50 yards from the Law School entrance. There are elevators on all floors of the structure. Parking is $6 on Saturday and free on Sunday. Be sure to bring your credit card, as cash is not accepted.
Schedule
Friday, Oct. 20
Panel: Growing Up Hapa in Hawai‘i
Location: Zoom, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Authors: Jessica Machado, Local: A Memoir, Jasmin Iolani Hakes, Hula: A Novel
Moderator: Mindy Pennybacker
Nonfiction: Makana Eyre, Sing, Memory: The Remarkable Story of the Man Who Saved the Music of the Nazi Camps
Location: Zoom, 6 to 7 p.m.
Moderator: Peter Shaindlin
Saturday, Oct. 21
Fiction: Susanna Moore, The Lost Wife: A Novel
Location: Zoom, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Moderator: Don Wallace
Hawai‘i Literacy Arts Council Annual Awards
Location: UH Law School, 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Elliot Cades Awards for Literature
- Established Artist: Rita Ariyoshi
- Emerging Artist: Joseph Han
- Loretta D. Petrie Awards for Service: Mavis Hara, Jim Kraus
Moderator: Eric Paul Shaffer
Panel: 1898: US Imperial Visions & Revisions–And Their Impact Today
Location: UH Law School, 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
Authors: Veronica Alporpha, Tom Coffman, Kealani Cook, Mary Therese Perez Hattori
Moderator: Colin Moore
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
Panel: Surfing Sisterhood Hawai‘i: Wahine Reclaiming the Waves
Location: UH Law School, 3 to 4 p.m.
Authors: Mindy Pennybacker, Sydney Iaukea, May Kamaka
Moderator: Karin Ingersoll
Signing to follow
SEE ALSO: Mindy Eun Soo Pennybacker’s “Surfing Sisterhood Hawai‘i” Is a Literary Tidal Wave
Photos: Getty Images, Van Wishingrad
Fiction: Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare: Stories
Location: UH Law School, 4:15 to 5:15 p.m.
Authors: Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, Kristiana Kahakauwila
Moderator: Chris McKinney
Signing to follow
SEE ALSO: Megan Kamalei Kakimoto’s Debut Book Has the Literary World Buzzing
Sunday, Oct. 22
Fiction: New Novels
Location: UH Law School, 10 to 11 a.m.
Authors: Scott Kikkawa, Tom Peek and Alain Gunn
Moderator: Roger Jellinek
Signing to follow
Fiction: Eventide, Water City
Location: UH Law School, 11:15 to 12:15 a.m.
Author: Chris McKinney
Moderator: Donald Carreira Ching
Signing to follow
Panel: A Trio of Hawaiian Poets
Location: UH Law School, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Authors: Brandy Nālani MacDougall, No‘u Revilla, Donovan K. Colleps
Signing to follow
SEE ALSO: 6 Books to Champion Maui Authors and Stories
Nonfiction: Feathered Gods And Fishhooks: The Archaeology of Ancient Hawai‘i, Revised Edition
Location: UH Law School, 1:45 to 2:45 p.m.
Author: Patrick Vinton Kirch
Moderator: Sara Collins
Signing to follow
Writer’s Workshop: Unforgettable: Finding the Voice That Makes Readers Keep Turning the Page
Location: Zoom, 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Instructor: Constance Hale
$25 donation via the Donate Page
Tips
- Bring water and snacks for in-person events.
- Note that all in-person author events will have time for signings after the panel.
- The writer’s workshop is a highlight of the festival, taught by Constance Hale, who recently taught this event at Stanford University. Come prepared with questions if you want to get the most out of the workshop, which will include a Q&A session.
Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival, Friday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 22, various times, on Zoom and in person at University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law, 2515 Dole St., hawaiibookandmusicfestival.com, @hawaiibookmusic
