Friends of the Library of Hawaii
Promoting and supporting Hawai‘i's public libraries
We are excited to announce the return of our Holiday Market at the Hawaiʻi State Library! This year, the Holiday Market will take place on Saturday, November 29 from 4:00-9:00pm, and it will coincide with the opening night of the Honolulu City Lights.
We invite food and craft vendors to be part of our Holiday Market! For more info, please see our Vendor Application. Interested vendors should submit an application by October 3, 2025.
We are excited to announce our Art & Collectibles Pop-up at Ward Centre, across Village Books and Music. The Art & Collectible Pop-up will run September 6 through October 26, and it will be open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am – 4pm. It will be closed on Mondays.
The pop-up will feature more than 200 pieces of art, including paintings, prints, photographs, textiles, ceramics and wooden pieces. It will also be stocked with collectibles, including model boat, plane, and car sets, vintage LIFE magazines, glass bottles, and dolls, oversized books, and more.
We’re especially excited to open this store and showcase our art collection, because we weren’t able to bring this inventory to our Annual Sale in July, and we appreciate Ward Village for allowing us to host this pop-up. New items will be added throughout the pop-up, so we recommend coming back often to check out what’s new.
The Art & Collectibles Pop-up, like our book sales, is a fundraiser for Hawaiʻi’s 51 public libraries. Proceeds from the pop-up support engaging and educational programming at your public library. We hope to see you there!
We are excited to once again be part of Give Aloha, Foodland’s Annual Community Matching Gifts program! This program runs throughout the month of September at all Foodland, Sack N Save, and Foodland Farms stores statewide.
Here’s how you can participate and support Friends of the Library of Hawaiʻi:
A portion of donations from enrolled Maikaʻi Members will be matched by Foodland!
You can also support the Give Aloha matching gift by:
The matching gift will be shared among all participating nonprofits.
We will receive all donations plus our matching gift in October.
Please join us for the 4th annual Read Aloud Series at the Ward Center Courtyard! Little ones can listen to live children’s book readings from local authors and librarians. You can also snap a photo in front of the photo wall, purchase books from our participating partners, and enjoy light snacks and beverages (while supplies last).
Mahalo to our partners: Ward Village, Hawaiʻi Library Association, SCBWI Hawaiʻi, Nā Mea Hawaiʻi, Logos Bookstore of Hawaiʻi, and Selfmade Something.
We are excited to share this announcement from The Cades Foundation and The Hawaiʻi Literary Arts Council: Nominations are now open for the 2024 Elliot Cades Awards for Literature, the most prestigious literary honor in Hawaiʻi. Nominations will be accepted until July 1, 2025.
The Elliot Cades Awards for Literature has been presented annually since 1988. The awards were established by Charlotte and J. Russell Cades in memory of J. Russell’s brother, Elliot, a teacher and lover of literature. The awards are administered by the Hawaiʻi Literacy Arts Council, which was founded in 1974 to encourage and promote literature and literary activity in Hawaiʻi.
The awards are given to two writers whose published work demonstrates high literary quality. The first award is given to an established artist with a substantial body of work, and the second award is given to an emerging writer whose work shows great promise. The awards are accompanied by a substantial monetary prize. View past awardees here.
Nominations should consist of a letter of nomination and supporting materials(s), including published work, which will be used during the judging process. Work relating to life in Hawaiʻi is sought, but so is fine literary writing of any kind by current or former residents of Hawaiʻi. Nominees can be poets, playwrights, novelists, essayists, or others associated with the literary arts in Hawaiʻi. Previous winners are not eligible.
Nominations and supporting materials must be mailed to the Hawaiʻi Literary Arts Council, and be received by July 1, 2025. For more info, please contact simondsj001@hawaii.rr.com or mleidemann@gmail.com.