BookPeople Presents: Mariah Rigg - Extinction Capital of the World

Please welcome Mariah Rigg and Saúl Hernández to celebrate Extinction Capital of the World!

This event is free and open to the public.

• Start time: 7:00 P.M.
• Run time: 45-60 minutes, followed by a signing line.
• Location: The second floor of BookPeople.

The author will be signing and personalizing copies of the book after the speaking portion of the event.

• To get a book signed, a copy of the event book or an item of equal value must be purchased from BookPeople.

Guidelines:

• Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

• If you have any other questions, please visit our Eventbrite FAQ. If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to email us at [email protected].
• All event guidelines are subject to change.
• BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.
• There will not be a live stream or recording available.

About the book:

Magnetic, haunting, and tender, 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.

In ten vibrant, affecting stories, Mariah Rigg immerses readers in contemporary Hawai’i. By turns heartbreaking and hopeful, these stories of love, longing, and grief are fierce dispatches from a state haunted by the specter of colonization, a precious biome under constant threat.

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, Rigg’s stories illuminate the exotification and commodification of Hawai’i in the American mythos. Extinction Capital of the World is an environmental love letter to the Hawaiian Islands and an indelible portrayal of the people who inhabit them—marking the arrival of an exciting new voice in contemporary fiction.

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. 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 a PhD candidate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In the fall, she will be a visiting fellow at Mount Holyoke College.

About the moderator:

Saúl Hernández is a queer writer from San Antonio, TX who was raised by former undocumented parents. Saúl has an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Texas at El Paso. His debut poetry collection, How to K*ll a Goat & Other Monsters (University of Wisconsin Press) is longlisted for a 2025 PEN Open Book Award, & was awarded the Texas Institute of Letters’ honor-winner. Saúl is the recipient of a 2025 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He's the winner of both the 2022 Pleiades Prufer Poetry Prize (judged by Joy Priest) & the 2021 Two Sylvias Press Chapbook Prize (judged by Victoria Chang). Saúl was nominated for Poet Laureate of San Antonio in 2024. He is a finalist for the 2024 Dartmouth Poet in Residence at The Frost Place nominated by Patrica Smith. He's a finalist for Palette Poetry 2020 Spotlight Award & a finalist for the 2019 Submerging Writer Fellowship, Fear No Lit; semi-finalists for the 2018 Francine Ringold Award for New Writers, Nimrod Literary Journal. His poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize & Best of The Net. Saúl’s work is forthcoming/featured in the American Poetry Review, Sundog Lit, Poetry Daily, The Slowdown, Literary Hub, Columbia Journal, Pleiades, Split This Rock, Frontier Poetry, Poet Lore, Foglifter Journal, Oyster River Pages, Cherry Tree, Atlanta Review, Quarterly West, PANK Magazine, Pidgeonholes, The Acentos Review, Cosmonauts Avenue, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, The Normal School, Rio Grande Review, and Adelaid Literary Magazine. He's a Macondista, a 2021 Tin House Alum, & a 2024 Lambda Literary Fellow. He currently lives in San Antonio, TX.

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Thank you for supporting Mariah Rigg, Saúl Hernández, and your local independent bookstore!

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