Why would someone come to Whidbey Island to disappear? Novelist T Kira Māhealani Madden talks about refuge, memory, and the island at the center of her new novel 'Whidbey'.

Today on Local Whidbey Podcast, I’m joined by T Kira Māhealani Madden, an award-winning writer whose highly anticipated new novel Whidbey is set right here on Whidbey Island.

T Kira first came to national attention with her debut memoir, 'Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls', a fearless and lyrical coming-of-age story that became a New York Times Editors’ Choice and was a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and the Lambda Literary Award. The book established her as one of the most compelling literary voices of her generation, praised for writing that is both deeply personal and unflinchingly honest.

Beyond her books, T Kira is also the founding editor of the literary journal No Tokens, has received fellowships from renowned writers’ residencies including MacDowell, Tin House, and Hedgebrook, and currently teaches creative writing and Indigenous literatures at Hamilton College.

In her new novel 'Whidbey', one of the most anticipated literary releases of the year, Madden turns to fiction but continues exploring questions of memory, trauma, and survival. The story begins with a woman arriving on Whidbey Island seeking distance from her childhood assaulter. She retreats to a quiet cabin, trying to disappear into the rhythms of island life — the forests, the shoreline, the animals — while confronting the resurfacing presence of the man who abused her as a child and has reentered her life in adulthood.

Rather than a bustling portrait of island life, 'Whidbey' uses the island as a place of refuge and reckoning — a landscape where solitude, nature, and distance give space for a character to wrestle with what she’s been carrying for years.

The book launched yesterday, March 10th — and with the author visiting the island on March 19th at Kingfisher Bookstore in Coupeville — it felt like the perfect time to talk about why this particular place became the setting for such a powerful story.

T Kira, welcome to the Local Whidbey Podcast.

Follow T Kira Madden on INSTAGRAM, at her WEBSITE and preferably, buy the book at Kingfisher Bookstore in Coupeville.

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You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com.

Local Whidbey Podcast is sponsored by THE MEDIA INSIDERS' AI DESK.

Meg Olson is one of those people who make a town feel like home.

If you’ve ever walked into Kingfisher Bookstore and felt immediately welcomed, challenged, entertained, or gently told what you should be reading—there’s a good chance you’ve met Meg Olson.

Meg is the owner of Kingfisher Bookstore in Coupeville, and she is funny, outspoken, wildly knowledgeable, and absolutely unafraid to jump in and help—whether that means finding the perfect book, rallying behind a cause, or showing up for her community when it counts.

Kingfisher isn’t just a bookstore—it’s a place for ideas, conversations, author events, and the occasional opinion, and Meg has been at the center of all of it. She’s helped shape the literary life of Whidbey Island while proving that an independent bookstore can be smart, bold, welcoming, and deeply human all at the same time.

Today, we’re talking about books, business, community, and what it really takes to run an independent bookstore with heart, humor, and a very strong point of view.

If you have been listening to me for a while, you know I adored Meg! She is my kind of human.

Subscribe to the Kingfisher Newsletter and FOLLOW on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK.

Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY is on @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM

You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com.

Local Whidbey Podcast is sponsored by THE MEDIA INSIDERS' AI DESK.

If you’ve ever thought mead was just a medieval novelty — or something overly sweet — today’s conversation might completely change your mind.

On Whidbey Island, there’s a meadery that’s quietly redefining what mead can be by blending honey, botanicals, fermentation science, and a deep respect for pollinators and place.

Hierophant Meadery in Freeland is owned by Jeremy Kyncl and Michelle Scandalis — two herbalists-turned-mead makers who believe that flavor tells the story of an entire ecosystem. From locally sourced honey to herbs grown on their own land, their work is rooted in sustainability, education, and curiosity.

Today, we’re talking about how they found their way to mead, what it means to build a values-driven business on Whidbey Island, how bees and botanicals shape everything they do — and where they hope to see this island go in the next five to ten years.

This is a conversation about craft, community, and paying attention to the small things that make a place special. I’m excited to share it with you.

Jeremy Kyncl and Michelle Scandalis from Hierophant Meadery — welcome to the show.

Shop online with Hierophant Meadery and check out their upcoming events.

https://hierophantmeadery.com/

FOLLOW: FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM

Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY is on @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM

You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com.

Local Whidbey Podcast is sponsored by THE MEDIA INSIDERS' AI DESK.