“Although both of us were raised on Oahu, in Honolulu, my mother has always had fond memories of Maui; this was, after all, where she and my father, then penniless yet oddly optimistic newlyweds, honeymooned in 1969.”

American novelist, editor, and travel writer

Hanya Yanagihara is an American novelist, editor, and travel writer. She grew up in Hawaii and is known for her fiction and editorial work. She is best known for the bestselling novel A Little Life, which was shortlisted for the 2015 Booker Prize. Yanagihara also served as editor-in-chief of T Magazine, and her work has reached readers through both long-form fiction and magazine writing.