ABOUT KAUAKANILEHUA MĀHOE ADAMS 🌺

Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams is the debut author of AN EXPANSE OF BLUE (Heartdrum, 2026), a YA novel in verse, and she’s a contributor to LEGENDARY FRYBREAD DRIVE-IN, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum), which received the 2025 Michael L. Printz Award and American Indian Youth Literature Award. 

Her forthcoming poetry will appear in THE COUNTRY IN THE MIRROR: POEMS OF PROTEST & WITNESS, edited by Sharon Darrow (Rootstock, 2026) and in WITNESS: POEMS TO ADDRESS THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF POLICING, edited by Ari Tison and Ty Chapman, illustrated by Damon Davis (Zest, 2026). She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. 

Kaua is of Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, and European descent and a first generation Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian), born and raised in Washington state. Today she lives in Carlsbad, California with her husband. Kaua spends her time writing, reading, dancing hula, and bending to her dogs’ every whim. Find her on Instagram and Threads @kauawrites for book news, musings, and a surplus of dog photos.