Last night’s Ka Palapala Po’okela Awards organized by the Hawai’i Book Publisher’s Association, was short and sweet. As usual, there were things we were very happy to see and other things not so much. Special guest and emcee for the event, Howard Dicus did a great job of keeping the brisk pace with literary quips and jokes. He mentioned having a copy of Arnold Hiura’s Kau Kau to Cuisine and that he could personally recommend it, then jested about the size and weight of Mark Panek’s book Hawaii.
It was wonderful to see winning entries from independent publishers and organizations, but lack of nominees overall for the 2013 calendar year meant that there weren’t as many award categories. Whether this is a reflection of the state of the publishing industry is debatable, but we’re still very positive here at HBB that local pubs can accomplish tremendous things. A separate category was created this year for Children’s Hawaiian Culture, which we suppose makes sense since the ‘Children’s Literature’ category usually has the most nominees, but why they allowed some of the same titles to be nominated in both Children’s categories made the whole separation a bit arbitrary. Last year, they had one category for Children and only one winner (no honorable mention)… so we continue to be baffled by the inconsistency in the awards for local keiki literature.
UPDATE: The KPPA for Excellence in Children’s Hawaiian Culture is an award that has been given in previous years and not a new category as previously mentioned. “It is judged with a different lens than the Childrenʻs Literature category, by the same judging panel that reviews the Hawaiian Language, Culture & History category. The last time the award was presented was in 2011” when there were at least three nominees.
We are glad that there were more entries this year so that they were able to bring it back and apologize for the confusion. Also, we mean no disrespect to the Hawaii Book Publisher’s Association and the KPPAs if our comments seem snarky, because any award ceremony or organization that recognizes the contributions of local authors and publishers has our whole-hearted admiration and support.
In all, it was still a great gathering of the literary community and we’re so honored to be a part of it. Here are the award results:
Excellence in Children’s Hawaiian Culture
- Award of Excellence – Kamehameha: The Rise of a King, by David Kāwika Eyre, illustrated by Brook Kapūkuniahi Parker (Kamehameha Publishing)
- Honorable Mention – ‘A‘ama Nui: Guardian Warrior Chief of Lalakea, written and illustrated by WCIT Architecture; mo‘o by Dr. Pualani Kanahele and Robert K. Iopa (Mo‘o Studio)
Excellence in Children’s Literature
- Award of Excellence – Koholā: King of the Whales, by Vince Daubenspeck, illustrated by Don Robinson (Island Heritage Publishing)
- Honorable Mention – ‘A‘ama Nui: Guardian Warrior Chief of Lalakea, written and illustrated by WCIT Architecture; mo‘o by Dr. Pualani Kanahele and Robert K. Iopa (Mo‘o Studio)
Excellence in Hawaiian Language, Culture & History
- Award of Excellence – Hawaiki Rising: Hōkūle‘a, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance, by Sam Low (Island Heritage Publishing)
- Honorable Mention – Ma‘i Lepera: Disease and Displacement in Nineteenth-Century Hawai‘i, by Kerri A. Inglis (University of Hawai‘i Press)
Excellence in Literature
- Award of Excellence – Hawai‘i: A Novel, by Mark Panek (Lō‘ihi Press)
- Honorable Mention – The Nanjing Massacre: Poems, by Wing Tek Lum (Bamboo Ridge Press)
Excellence in Illustrative or Photographic Books
- Award of Excellence – Honolulu Magazine and Paradise of the Pacific: 125 Years of Covers, by A. Kam Napier, Kristin Lipman, Michael Keany, and Erik Ries (Watermark Publishing)
- Honorable Mention – Ke Ao Nani: He Puke Hua‘ōlelo 1000, by Alohalani Housman, illustrated by Eve Furchgott (Hale Kuamo‘o Hawaiian Language Center)
Excellence in Natural Science
- Award of Excellence – Kāhuna Lā‘au Lapa‘au: The Secrets and Practice of Hawaiian Herbal Medicine, by June Gutmanis (Island Heritage Publishing)
- Honorable Mention – Restoring Paradise: Rethinking and Rebuilding Nature in Hawai‘i, by Robert J. Cabin (University of Hawai‘i Press)
Excellence in Cookbooks
- Award of Excellence – From Kau Kau to Cuisine: An Island Cookbook, Then and Now, by Arnold Hiura, photography by Rae Huo and Dawn Sakamoto (Watermark Publishing)
- Honorable Mention – A Korean Kitchen: Traditional Recipes with an Island Twist, by Joan Namkoong, photography by Ian Gillespie (Mutual Publishing)
Excellence in Special-Interest Books
- Award of Excellence – Japanese Buddhist Temples in Hawai‘i: An Illustrated Guide,by George J. Tanabe and Willa Jane Tanabe (University of Hawai‘i Press)
- Honorable Mention – The Hiker’s Guide to O‘ahu, Updated and Expanded, by Stuart M. Ball, Jr. (University of Hawai‘i Press)
Excellence in Nonfiction Books
- Award of Excellence – Hawaiki Rising: Hōkūle‘a, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance, by Sam Low (Island Heritage Publishing)
- Honorable Mention – Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani, by Queen Lili‘uokalani, annotated by David W. Forbes (Hui Hānai)
Excellence in Design
- Award of Excellence – Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani, designed by Barbara Pope, Barbara Pope Book Design (Hui Hānai)
- [no Honorable Mention awarded in this category]
Samuel M. Kamakau Award
- Hawaiki Rising: Hōkūle‘a, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance, by Sam Low (Island Heritage Publishing)
We would like to congratulate all of the authors, illustrators, designers and publishers on their extraordinary achievements. As always, we hope to see even more excellent books out of Hawaiʻi next year!
