Malia Maunakea

Malia Maunakea is a Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) writer who grew up on Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu before relocating to the continent for college. She writes both middle-grade fiction and nonfiction and is the author of Lei and the Fire Goddess (Penguin Workshop, summer 2023) and Lightweight Backpacking for Families (CMC Press, spring 2023). When not at her computer, she can often be found roaming the Rocky Mountains with her husband, their two children, and a rescue mutt named Peggy.