“Hear me out. … A book club, but we read Hawaiʻi-based stories by Native Hawaiian authors.”
What began with a group chat among Native Hawaiian wāhine in December 2025 quickly grew into an online community, known as the ʻŌiwi Book Club, which connects readers across oceans.
Kanaka ʻŌiwi writer, educator, and māmā Keōmailani Yamane is the founder of the book club.
Born and raised on Maui, she attended Hawaiian immersion school during her childhood, where she learned the importance of Hawaiian language and stories.
“Our stories can carry so much of our history, our identity, and the way that we see the world,” Yamane told HPR. “And so, those experiences are really what shaped who I eventually became as a Native Hawaiian writer myself. And as I began writing my own stories, I sort of realized something was missing.”
Yamane knew there were many extraordinary Hawaiian stories and authors, but felt that Native Hawaiian voices weren’t reaching enough readers. So she took up a kuleana to grow a community of readers by providing a space for Hawaiian literature and stories to thrive.
ʻŌiwi Book Club started in a group chat where Yamane and her friends would share books they were reading.
“They were like, ‘Love it!’” Yamane shared. “And then my type-A personality created a spreadsheet; I wanted everyone to vote, and then once I put it on Instagram, people started commenting to me directly in the DMs, like, ‘I love this.’ ‘This is such a great idea.’ And I put it online and just invited people to read with us.”
In February 2026, ʻŌiwi Book Club launched on Instagram. The page now has more than 5,800 followers. Membership is free and includes a monthly newsletter with a link to the latest book, a synopsis, and details for virtual meetups.
Connecting Hawaiians in the diaspora
Yamane initially envisioned more in-person events on Maui, but as the club grew, she realized the community extended beyond the island.
“What I noticed is most of the people are not from Hawaiʻi,” Yamane shared. “It's Native Hawaiians from the diaspora from Seattle, San Jose, San Francisco, Portland. We even have a recurring member who comes back every single week from the United Kingdom.”
“It's incredible. I get chicken skin because I could cry thinking about how our stories have reached across the oceans, that far, and are impacting people well beyond my own intention,” she said.
Uplifting authors and readers
In recent years, virtual and niche book clubs have grown in popularity, creating new spaces for writers and readers.
Fellow writer and editor Lily Diamond told HPR that she was excited as soon as she saw what Yamane was doing because nothing like it exists. Diamond could feel Yamane's enthusiasm for the project and just had to click follow.
“We're in a time where so many of the stories and the voices that have not traditionally been given space to be heard are making that space,” Diamond said. “And there's so much to be learned. … She is doing something unprecedented that is really, like, a community-based project that feels so powerful.”
Diamond, who is also from Maui, helped start a local in-person book club for women on the island three years ago.
She is the founder of the virtual book club Lilith Lit, which features contemporary works of fiction and nonfiction by women authors that explore the experience of being a woman in the world today.
Yamane has found that book clubs offer people a space to explore ideas and hui.
“For me, I think that the heart of a very strong community is the ability to come together, and to listen to one another, to ask questions, and to have healthy, respectful conversations,” Yamane said. “I just think that at the core, book clubs help us sort of practice that. And I don't think that you're just building readers. I think you're actually building stronger communities.”
A literary ecosystem
As ʻŌiwi Book Club continues to grow, Yamane is working to build infrastructure to support it.
She is creating a Discord channel for members to chat, a recommendations form, and developing a system for a clear voting process that distinguishes Instagram followers from club members.
But overall, she sees ʻŌiwi Book Club as a literary ecosystem of Hawaiian writers, authors, and storytellers.
As Yamane is also working to create her own stories and TV series, she hopes to continue expanding ʻŌiwi Book Club and to start a Hawaiʻi Book Festival bringing together authors, businesses, and libraries for what she calls “a full-on Book-chella weekend.”
Reflecting on the start of ʻŌiwi Book Club, Yamane goes back to her identity and asks herself one question: “How can I develop the gifts I’ve been given to uplift my lāhui?”
The response to the book club has been truly positive for Yamane. She said being recognized for the work she is doing is a feeling she is learning to receive.
“Being in this space where the work that I'm doing, whether or not that's writing or actually building a community, and being chosen for stories or collaborations, it's kind of overwhelming,” she said. “But I'm so grateful. I could cry every time that somebody DMs me about it, because I guess it's the recognition that other people are really craving for Hawaiian stories and seeing a reflection of themselves in stories.”
For more information about the ʻŌiwi Book Club, click here.
