Maui Festival

Hi all! Aloha and welcome back to our MLI blog. We were treated to a special event that took place right here at the University of Hawaii Maui Campus. The event was called "Celebrate Reading - The Maui 2010 Festival." We were honored to have six published authors come to share their experiences as writers with us and to talk about their latest works. Here is a little background information about each guest author so that you can get to know them a little better. Also, be sure to check out our Facebook fan page for more photos of this event!

Eric Paul Shaffer is an accomplished author who has published five books of poetry and just released his first novel, Burn & Learn in November 2009. A few months ago, Eric was kind enough to allow us to interview him about his new novel. He also talked about his inspirations, the writing process he goes through, and also gave some great advice for aspiring writers. I highly recommend that you check out that blog. You can also learn more about Eric and his works by going to http://www.leapingdogpress.com/isbn.php?isbn=9781587750281

George Kahumoku, Jr. has led an interesting and amazing life, which he talks about in his new book, A Hawaiian Life. Not only is George a great teacher, a farmer, an artist, a sculptor, and a humanitarian who gives back to his community, but he is also a Grammy Award winner for his slack key guitar music. You can find out more information about George, his book, and slack key guitar music by visiting his website at http://www.kahumoku.com/index.htm

Wayne Moniz is the recipient of the 1995 and the 2004 Elliot Cades Award for Literature. He has produced a variety of short stories, plays, and works of poetry. His book, Under Maui Skies, has received rave reviews. You can find out more about his book and about Wayne at http://www.undermauiskies.com/

Neal Shusterman is not only a successful novelist, but is also a screenwriter and television writer as well. He has received many awards from the International Reading Association and the American Library Association, and even won the CINE Golden Eagle Award for two short films that he directed. For more information about Neal, you can go to his website at http://www.storyman.com/bio/

Terry Trueman is a talented author who has published several novels which have garnered many wonderful reviews. He received the Printz Honor for his book, Stuck in Neutral. If you would like to know more about Terry and his works, please check out his website at http://terrytrueman.com

Kathryn Wilder began writing from an early age. She has edited the Walking the Twilight: Women Writers of the Southwest anthologies, co-authored Forbidden Talent with Redwing T. Nez, and has had many of her essays appear in Spirit of Aloha, Hawai'i magazine, Hana Hou!, Maui No Ka 'Oi, Holoholo, and Southern Indiana Review.

Our students had the opportunity to sit in and listen to these guest authors and learn more about becoming better writers. Don't just take my word for it! Here's what our students had to say about their experiences at the Celebrate Reading Festival.

My favorite author was Eric. The most memorable words from him was that even a successful author like him still has bad first drafts. He is still struggling with writing and has for a long time. It was very helpful for me. (Kentaro, Japan)

This was the first time I joined the CRF. I was glad to see many authors. They shared their books and their experiences. It was a good opportunity for me to listen to different people. However, the time was too short - about 30 minutes for each author. I liked that author in wellness building because of his book on sleep, and the way he described his upcoming book. (Nhu Vo, Vietnam)

I think this was a very good experience for me. I have never met an author directly before, even in Korea. Actually, I'm usually not very interested in the authors or their books but this was another new experience on Maui. (Eun Yeong, S. Korea)

I think the Reading Festival was pretty good. It made me think that everybody has their first step on their writing journey. And I used to think I am a little bit old to start something, but I'm not! Some of the authors were over 40 when they started to write. They make students know we all have possibilities of becoming writers. (Gabae, S. Korea)

That was good experience to listen to the authors. (Chikako, Japan)

I learned about many people's fiction. Some people knew how to make jokes in American style. Actually, I couldn't understand the entire stories, but I tried to understand them. It was interesting, especially the second author when he was teaching about Hawaiian history. (Ji Hun "Bryan," S. Korea)

I think celebrating reading is good. I feel a little bit...like when the books are advertised too much, we don't have time to hear why and where their ideas came from. I liked the first person we heard and was excited about him. And Eric Paul Shaffer showed us how to write and get an idea. He encouraged us to write novel! (Thuy Vu, Vietnam)

Eric Paul Shaffer's class was the most logical class. He gave us a list of his poems and he explained how to create a new poem. I was astonished by his logical way of making poems, and realized the way to create [my own] new poems. (Hidenori "Denny," Japan)

Okay folks! My time is up for this blog, but I'll be back with more fun MLI updates! Make sure you check out all of our pictures on our Facebook fan page! See you all soon, aloha!