‘Ia ora na - Welcome!
Manuia Heinrich
Author of SALT WATER BLOOD,
a speculative thriller about a girl who hears the sea's prophetic thoughts and must race against time to clear her brother's name before he's blamed for his girlfriend's disappearance.Out in spring/summer 2026 with Simon & Schuster (US) - Allen & Unwin (ANZ).
about me
Manuia Heinrich is a Tahitian writer based in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. Raised in the francophone Pacific in a large and loving family, she is a researcher and educator with a PhD in Pacific Studies from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington (something she’s eternally recovering from), and Master’s degrees in Pacific literature and education.An advocate for Indigenous Pacific Islander voices, she co-founded the pitch event APIpit and the non-profit organization Pacific Islanders in Publishing.
Shortlisted for the Write Mentor 2024 Novel (YA) Awards sponsored by Bonnier Books UK (2024).
Selected for Writers Mentorship programs with YA manuscripts: Write Mentor UK, We Need Diverse Books with New York Times best-selling authors Dhonielle Clayton and Varsha Bajaj, & the New Zealand Society of Authors with crime author Vanda Symon.
Recipient of a Highlights Foundation Scholarship for Emerging Writers of Pacific Island descent (2023).
Selected for the Doctoral Dean’s List of Excellence, for theses of exceptional quality that make an outstanding contribution to their field of research, Victoria University of Wellington (2022).
Publications
Fiction | Poetry | Non-fiction
"ode to a colonizer" (poem), We the Gathered Heat anthology edited by Franny Choi, Bao Phi, Noʻu Revilla, & Terisa Siagatonu, Haymarket Books (September 2024).
"The Talent That Hid Away" (middle-grade fantasy short story), Fua anthology edited by Laini Wendt Young & Sisilia Eteuati, Tatou Publishing (May 2024).
“Rava” (fantasy short story), Letter to My Father edited by Stephanie Wynne, The Samoa Observer (2020).
“How We ‘Island’ Our Writing: A Deep Dive into Pacific Islander SFF,” edited by Iori Kusano, Apex Magazine n°137 (May 2023).
“Tahitian Author Célestine Vaite’s Multilingual Writing: A Stitching Languages and Experiences Across Oceania,” in Tina Makereti & Bonnie Etherington (eds), Literature Compass 21(10-12), (November 2024).
“Reading the Multilingual Novel with the Mā’ohi Tīfaifai: An Indigenous Methodology,” in Julia L. Frengs & Anaïs Maurer (eds), New Directions in Mā’ohi Literature, Liverpool University Press, pp. 66-78 (May 2024).
“Te Reo Tahiti", article in journal of languages and linguistics Unravel Magazine issue 14 (October 2019).
Reviews | Translations
Review Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures, Honolulu Magazine (2024).
Translation contributions, bilingual anthology Room to Write edited by Linda Burgess & Maggie Rainey-Smith, Cuba Press (2022).
Panels
Forthcoming
Panel "Contemporary Mā’ohi Literature: Creating Visibility in Pacific Studies and Francophone Studies", Modern Language Association Annual Convention, New Orleans (January 2025).
Past
Verb Readers & Writers Festival Wellington: A conversation with poet and University of San Francisco librarian Nicola Andrews on Pacific Islander representation in literature (November 2024)Panel discussion with Kanaka Māoli authors Kealani Netane and Keala Kendall, American Library Association Annual Conference – APALA - Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (September 2024).Paper presentation, “Vaite’s Multilingual Writing”, ASFS 2022 Conference: Australian Society for French Studies – Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington (December 2022).Keynote moderator, “Writing Across Spaces”, with Mā'ohi author Célestine Vaite, ASFS 2022 Conference: Australian Society for French Studies – Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington (December 2022).Seminar, “Strategies of Self-Translation in the Mā’ohi Novel,” – School of Humanities, Media, & Creative Communication, Massey University Palmerston North (December 2020).Seminar, “Vaite’s Multilingual Writing: A Literary Tīfaifai from the ‘Inside Out’,” Va‘aomanū Pasifika Series – School of Languages & Cultures, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington (August 2020).
Interviews
The Quiet Pond, a conversation with book blogger CW (May 2021).
Radio interview La Pause Décoloniale with Anaïs Duong-Pedica, researcher and teaching fellow at Åbo Akademi University Finland (episode 13, December 2023). Part 1 on my research and the necessity of fostering Indigenous-based research methodologies; Part 2 on the creation of Pacific Islanders in Publishing & amplifying Pasifika voices (interviews in French).
Talanoa (conversation) with Samoan podcaster/book reviewer Rosa, featuring co-founders of Pacific Islanders in Publishing Kealani Netane & Keala Kendall (episode 127, April 2024)
books
SALT WATER BLOOD is an Indigenous Polynesian thriller perfect for fans of FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER & Disney's MOANA.When her brother is accused of murder, Moemoana's gift—hearing the sea's prophetic thoughts—may be the only way to catch the killer.Releasing spring/summer with Simon & Schuster (US), Allen & Unwin (ANZ).
Shortlisted for the Write Mentor 2024 Novel (YA) Awards sponsored by Bonnier Books UK (May 2024).
Shortlisted for the Uncharted Magazine's Novel Excerpt Prize judged by Keshe Chow (August 2024).
![Publishers Marketplace deal report (December 4, 2024). SALT WATER BLOOD by Manuia Heinrich. Imprint: Sarah Barley Books, Allen & Unwin. [Text Body] We Need Diverse Books mentee and Pacific Islanders in Publishing cofounder Manuia Heinrich's SALT WATER BLOO](assets/images/image06.jpg?v=909899f7 "Deal Report")
contact
For any publishing inquiries, please reach out to my agent Marin Takikawa at The Friedrich Agency. For Inquiries about Pacific Islanders in Publishing, email us at pacificislanderbooks[at]gmail.com.If you have any questions or simply want to say hi, drop me a line below!