We are saddened to hear of the passing of Kaya Press author Sia Figiel (1967-2026). Figiel was the author of Where We Once Belonged, originally published in 1996, and won the the 1997 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in the Southeast Asia/South Pacific region, and was considered the first major novel by a Samoan woman. Kaya went on to publish this book in 1999, and another novel: They Who Do Not Grieve in 2000. She was also the author of the books Free Love and The Girl in the Moon Circle.

“The Tuli called to me, her voice music to my feet, and I began walking…walking-walking…away from Siniva’s grave… walking now towards Malaefou, towards the new gathering place where ‘we’ once belonged.” — Sia Figiel, from Where We Once Belonged