We're delighted to welcome Mariah Rigg to H&H books to celebrate the release of her debut short story collection, EXTINCTION CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. Mariah will be in conversation with Philly-based musician and poet Sara Mae. This short reading and conversation will take place on August 12 at 7pm.
This event is free, but registration on Eventbrite is highly encouraged. (Your free registration helps us gauge community interest in the different kinds of events we offer and helps us plan how our space is arranged!)
Copies of EXTINCTION CAPITAL OF THE WORLD will be available in-store at H&H Books beginning on the book’s pub date (8/5) and are available for preorder on our ecommerce site. Sara Mae's chapbook, PHANTASMAGOSSIP, is available in-store and on our ecommerce site (for in-store pickup only).
Questions? Email events@theheadandthehand.com with any questions and follow us @theheadandthehand on Instagram.
About the Book:
Extinction Capital of the World is a stunning portrait of Hawai'i--and a powerful meditation on family, queer love, and community amid imperialism and environmental collapse.
An older man grapples with the American weapons research conducted on a neighboring island that reverberates through his entire life. A pregnant woman seeks belonging while poaching flowers in the rainforest with her partner's mother. Two teenage girls find love during a summer spent on Midway Atoll. A young woman returns home to O'ahu following a breakup and reconnects with her estranged father and the island itself.
Linked by both place and character, Mariah Rigg's ten stories illuminate the exotification and commodification of Hawai'i in the American mythos and mark the arrival of an exciting new voice in contemporary fiction.
"Rigg's voice is sharp and engrossing, her characters cunning but affable. This is climate fiction at its most humane and emotionally rich." -- Vulture, "28 Books We Can't Wait to Read This Summer"
"Rigg is an absolutely beautiful writer and a master of subtext; the conversations between her characters crackle with history and deep feelings. . . . A gorgeous, compelling collection that unspools the little-known history of Hawai'i and shows how queerness operates in the furthest-flung American state." -- Oprah Daily, "8 Pride Month Books that Celebrate Queer Joy"
About the Author:
Mariah Rigg is a Samoan-Haole who was born and raised on the island of O‘ahu. She is the author of the short story collection EXTINCTION CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, which is forthcoming from Ecco/HarperCollins in summer 2025. Her chapbook, ALL HAT, NO CATTLE was published by Bull City Press in 2023. Mariah is the recipient of fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, MASS MoCA, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, The Mount, Oregon Literary Arts, Carolyn Moore Writers’ House, and Lambda Literary. Her work has been featured in The Sewanee Review, Oxford American, Electric Lit, The Common, Joyland, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the University of Oregon and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where she teaches writing. In the fall, she will be a visiting fellow at Mount Holyoke College. Instagram: @riggstah
Sara Mae is a genderqueer writer and musician raised on the Chesapeake Bay. Their chapbook PHANTASMAGOSSIP was published by YesYes Books earlier this year. They are a 2023 Big Ears Music Festival Artist Scholar, a 2022 Tinhouse Summer Workshops Attendee, a 2022 Open Mouth Attendee, and a 2021 Sewanee Writer’s Conference Scholar. Their work appears in or is forthcoming from the Georgia Review, POETRY, The Offing, and elsewhere. Their first chapbook, PRIESTESS OF TANKINIS, is out via Game Over Books. They write shimmery rock music as The Noisy. They received their MFA from UT Knoxville, and currently live in Philly. Instagram: @veryverynoisy