Extinction Capital of the World

Mariah Rigg

Language: English

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: Jun 12, 2025

Description:

A Recommended Read from: Vulture * Oprah Daily * Our Culture * LitHub * Debutiful * LGBTQ Reads * Alta Journal

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...