Poet Koon Woon passed away, surrounded by friends and loved ones, August 13, 2026. Koon was a joy to publish, and we have many good memories of his generosity and care, and will always remember fondly walking around a rainy Lake View Cemetery where Koon pointed out Bruce Lee’s gravesite and then read poems at […]
Kaya Press Managing Editor Neelanjana Banerjee taught Asian American Publishing with Kaya Press this Spring Quarter in the Asian American Studies Department at UCLA. Students met with publishing professionals like (former Kaya Press interns) Sonali Chanchani and Emily Chen, worked as interns for Kaya Press themselves putting together teaching guides for Kaya publications First Contact […]
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 […]
I was at JLF to scout authors in my role as an acquiring editor for Kaya Press’s brand new South Asian imprint, Kulhar Books.
In a world that’s not just indifferent, but often outright hostile to Asian American complexity, the fact that Kaya continues to exist is no small feat. This is true now more than ever. With our federal grant programs effectively cut off, and other key sources of funding under threat from anti-DEI initiatives, we will run […]
During UCLA’s Spring 2025 quarter, Kaya Press Managing Editor Neelanjana Banerjee returned to campus to teach a course on the publishing industry through the Asian American Studies Department. For 10 weeks, each student investigated the current state of publishing while collecting work from peers, family members, and others to curate their own publications. Their work […]
