She is one of the Pacific’s leading literary stars … her books have been described as “a storytelling triumph” … her performances are electrifying … she is currently based in American Samoa … and she has just accepted to be the Starmap Champion for the month of March. Award-winning novelist Sia Figiel is the author of Where We Once Belonged, the novel which won the “Best First Book” in the South East Asia/South Pacific region of the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 1997. The novel gained further acclaim after its adaptation to the stage by David Armstrong. As a play it won the “Absolutely Positively Outstanding New New Zealand Play of the Year” prize at the 17th annual Chapman Tripp theatre awards in Wellington in 2008. Sia has published two other novels, The Girl in the Moon Circle (1996) and They Who Do Not Grieve (1999), a book of prose poetry To a Young Artist in Contemplation (1998), and Terenesia, a CD of performance-poetry with poet Teresia Teaiwa (2000). This month, Sia invites you to submit questions about her work, the people and ideas that inspire her, and her views about Pacific Literature. She also provides advice on the paths to success in creative writing. Click here to submit a question or comment.
Sia Figiel at the premiere of the play "Where We Once Belonged" in Wellington, March 2008.
