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Misty Sanico

@mistysanico

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writer | editor | book summoner
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👻 Old stories, new stories, and many people carrying them in between. Today is the official launch of "What Whispers Back"! In the spirit of a book that brings stories into conversation across decades, here are two editors, thirty-something years apart, offering our mahalos to the many people who made/make these books possible. My heartfelt thanks to Dave DeLuca, Kristen Namba Reed, and the team at Bess Press; to Mariko Merrit and Coby Shimabukuro-Sanchez for making this book such a beautiful object; and to all our wonderful writers who took these old tales somewhere new. What a joy to have made this with you. In past posts I neglected to tag the crazy talented designers: Mariko Merritt @heybeachcake Coby Shimabukuro-Sanchez @shikarabu 💖 Go check um out! #SpookyTalesHawaii #LiteraryAnthology #Timetravel by @mistysanico
🎉 Super excited for the launch of *What Whispers Back* this coming Saturday, October 24! When I first started working on this anthology, I had no intention of including my own writing. I wanted to focus on the other writers and what they might create from the original Spooky Tales. But Kristen and the awesome folks at @besspress convinced me to reconsider. Rick Carroll, the original editor of the "Hawaiʻi's Best Spooky Tales" series, always included his own eerie encounters and essays in the books. We knew we wanted to include one of his pieces, too. And since the writers were spinning new stories from the original contributors, it seemed only fitting that this editor should spin a tale from the original editor. 👻 I hope you'll join us Saturday! We're doing something a little different from the usual book launch. It's a drop-in Spooky Tales experience, with eerie projections and displays, spooky audio recordings, and live readings happening throughout the evening... including my spun story ʻWish You Were Hereʻ. Come for a little while or stay the whole time! There'll be snacks, drinks, books to buy and sign, and plenty of time to talk story with the writers. Hope to see you there! 📖👻 Link to RSVP in the bio Saturday, October 24 5:00 to 7:30 PM Bess Press Warehouse 3565 Harding Ave., Kaimukī #spookytales by @mistysanico
💧 It's raining in town! If you can't get to our event at MIA today no worries. The official book launch of WHAT WHISPERS BACK is on Saturday, October 24th from 5:00-7:30 PM. It will be a spooky tales experience. Take in the tales with displays and audio, talk story with writers, nibble on snacks, and catch eerie readings manifesting throughout the evening. 👻 RSVP with QR code on the flyer or visit besspress.com by @mistysanico
Save the Date! Celebrate the launch of our new double-sided literary anthology, "What Whispers Back," on Saturday, October 24th at Bess Press (3565 Harding Ave) from 5:00pm - 7:30pm.⁠ ⁠ Join us for small bites, book signing, and a Spooky Tales experience with eerie readings from the new literary anthology. Doors open at 5pm.⁠ Drop in for 15 minutes or stay for the evening.⁠ ⁠ Line up and details are TBD. We will share more soon!⁠ ⁠ This event is FREE to the public. Parking is available in the Kaimukī Municipal Lot. As this event will be curated primarily for an adult crowd, keiki can attend but only with close adult supervision.⁠ ⁠ RSVP link in bio (space is limited!)⁠ ⁠ Cover Art by Mariko Merritt @heybeachcake by @mistysanico
The physical act of flipping this book mirrors the movement inside it, between past and present, source and response. What passes from one to the other? Read to find out. 👻 "What Whispers Back" is a reversible, double-sided anthology. Readers can begin on either side, then flip the book to move between firsthand accounts from "Hawaiʻi’s Best Spooky Tales" and new fiction by contemporary Hawaiʻi writers. The new stories aren’t retellings. Each writer began with something that lingered from an original account, maybe a detail, a feeling, a theme, or a place that felt familiar, and used it as the starting point for something entirely new. With fiction from: @mistahdonald @shaykauwe @kalehuakim @thomasiannucci @megankkakimoto @kapili.ula.la @waterbearfoto @lumchanmfa @kealii0529 @mistysanico R. Zamora Linmark Brandy Nālani McDougall Lehua Parker Mahalo to @besspress for giving me the chance to put this all together. To the amazing writers above, mahalo nui for treating the source tales with so much care and for trusting me with your words. ❤️ Check out "What Whispers Back" at besspress.com, and save the date for our launch celebration: 📅 October 24 📍 Bess Press, 3565 Harding Ave., Honolulu Details to follow! #WhatWhispersBack #BessPress #HawaiiBooks #HawaiiWriters #SpookyTales #UncannyFiction #HawaiiLiterature by @mistysanico
Winner of the inaugural APALA Pasifika Poetry prize, Mele, by Kalehua Kim, embodies the meaning of the word “mele” – a Hawaiian song or chant traditionally used to preserve history through the oral tradition. Kim’s debut collection evokes modes of language and culture that shape the contours of memory and expose the fault lines of family and self, as well as the grace and generosity of healing, acknowledgement, and commemoration. The poems reflect on what we inherit and how who we become is intertwined with who our parents were and are, and the pain of facing that reality. Join author Kalehua Kim on Sunday, October 4th at 2pm for poetry readings, Q&A, and a book signing. Kalehua will be joined by local poets Misty-Lynn Sanico and Arielle Taitano Lowe. This event is free to the public but RSVPs are encouraged! Parking is available in the Kaimukī Municipal Lot across the street. Mele is available for purchase at dashophnl.com by @mistysanico
What lingers after a story is told? What whispers back?⁠ ⁠ 13 firsthand accounts of the unexplained from the Spooky Tales archives, in conversation with 13 new works of uncanny fiction they inspired. Coming October 2026. Learn more and preorder your copy at BessPress.com (link in bio).⁠ ⁠ "What Whispers Back: Spinning Hawaiʻi's Spooky Tales" is a double-sided literary anthology showcasing Hawaiʻi writers that explores the thresholds of memory, resistance, and presence through a unique reversible format. One side of the book features thirteen firsthand accounts of the unexplained from Rick Carroll’s popular book series; flipped, thirteen contemporary Hawaiʻi writers offer literary fiction responding to those hauntings.⁠ ⁠ Atmospheric and deeply rooted in the layered history of the islands, these stories present the supernatural not as conventional genre horror, but as a living, enduring presence. This reversible volume pairs historical accounts of the island uncanny with modern literary responses, offering a shared language for navigating uncertainty and remembering what remains.⁠ ⁠ Includes new fiction from Donald Carreira Ching, thomas iannucci, Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, Shay Kauwe, Kalehua Kim, Bryan Kamaoli Kuwada, R. Zamora Linmark, Melissa Llanes Brownlee, D. Kealiʻi MacKenzie, Brandy Nālani McDougall, Kapiliʻula Naehu-Ramos, Lehua Parker, and Misty-Lynn Sanico.⁠ ⁠ Cover Art by Mariko Merritt @heybeachcake⁠ Design by Coby Shimabukuro-Sanchez @shikarabu⁠ by @mistysanico
I’ve been working on a thing with @besspress and we’re just about ready to let it buckaloose. I’m always gonna hype Hawaiʻi books, and this stack is full of books and writers I already love. But there’s another reason they’re all together off my shelf. Keep an eye out for the official announcement soon. 👀🤙 by @mistysanico
🤙 K. So it's a poem about Kaka'ako from 2013 published in Issue 106 (2015) edited by Gail Harada and Lisa Kanae PLUS an unpublished remix from 2025 where I rolled D10 to mash-up the poem with a highmakamaka condo brochure. And so... there's a sad lack of Pidgin in both. Mebbe 2027 can try write a "I sad STILL no can afford Kaka'ako condo" reaction poem to da poems and dat one can be Pidgin. 😜 Reading this Saturday from 2-4 at da Shop in Kaimukī. This event is free. Come say hi and hang out. Mahalo to @dashophnl @bambooridge and @hoolana.publishing by @mistysanico
🌞 Quiet shifts in energy and momentum Since I still occasionally get DMs/questions assuming I’m the one behind Bamboo Ridge’s socials, I wanted to share a small update. I’m still working with Bamboo Ridge Press behind the scenes in operations/web etc., but I’m no longer managing their social media or marketing/comms the way I did for many years. So if you see posts/newsletters/etc. going forward, that’s no longer primarily my work or voice. I’m still around helping where needed, just in a different capacity these days. A lot of my energy lately has been shifting toward other creative/strategic projects, and work that feels more aligned with what I want to build next. Mostly sharing this so folks know where to direct questions and expectations moving forward 🤙🌺 by @mistysanico
Ho'omaika'i to the students, teachers, and volunteers for another successful Hawai'i History Day State Fair! I'm always inspired by these bright minds. 💜 These kids are so curious and akamai. They have bold ideas and are unafraid to tell you what's what. 😊 I love being part of @hihumanities and Hawai'i History Day... but small kine it makes me feel old!! 😱😅 by @mistysanico
I love a Sunday matinee @kumukahua Theatre. Going at kupuna speed is definitely my jam. So relaxing! 🥰 by @mistysanico

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