T Kira Madden

Shrley Cai

T Kira Māhealani Madden is a diasporic Kanaka 'Ōiwi, Native Hawaiian, writer and author of the acclaimed memoir "Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls," which was named a New York Times Editors' Choice, as well as a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and the Lambda Literary Award. She is the founding editor of No Tokens, a magazine of literature and art and is also winner of the 2021 Judith A. Markowitz Award. Currently, she is an assistant professor at Hamilton College in Creative Writing and Indigenous studies.

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Communities: LGBTQ+, Indigenous or Native American, diasporic Native Hawaiian

Friends and Sponsors Only: Hot Off the Press

Sponsors and Friends of the Festival are invited to a books launch party with authors in attendance.

Campus Store - Hot Off the Press (Seats 250, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 14, 8:00 am - 9:00 am

Panelists: David Blumenthal, C.J. Box, Elle Cosimano, Elon Green, Adib Khorram, T Kira Madden, Loubna Mrie, Megan Kate Nelson, Keith O'Brien, Caroline Paul

Stories of Survival

What does it mean to break free from trauma, expectation, or identities that have been imposed upon us? In this session, authors T Kira Madden, Naeem Murr and Eshani Surya will explore the courage it takes to reclaim agency and rebuild the self ... and how liberation may come from quiet act of telling one’s own story.

Student Union Kachina (Seats 100)  
Sat, Mar 14, 11:30 am - 12:25 pm
Fiction / Literature
Signing area: UA Campus Store Book Sales (Mall) (following presentation)  

Panelists: T Kira Madden, Naeem Murr, Eshani Surya
Moderator: Natalia Gabrielsen
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Bourn Companies, Mark and Karin Wiest

Trauma, Memory and Truth

What is the responsibility of a storyteller when recounting trauma, injustice, or loss? This panel brings together three authors who explore the fragile line between memory and reality, and how personal and collective histories shape our understanding of the world.

The Commons Room 105 (Seats 217, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sun, Mar 15, 1:00 pm - 1:55 pm
Fiction / Literature
Signing area: Sales & Signing Koffler/Commons (following presentation)

Panelists: Brandon Hobson, T Kira Madden, Thrity Umrigar
Moderator: Jessica Braithwaite
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of City of Tucson, Visit Tucson, Jane Q. Peterson

Books:

Whidbey

A Novel
Fiction / Literature
HarperCollins Publishers
March 2026
ISBN 9780063289680
384 pages
Buy now

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls

A Memoir
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Bloomsbury USA
March 2020
ISBN 9781635574760
336 pages
Buy now