2026 State of the Art Prize, Hawaii
2026 State of the Art Prize, Hawaii
R. Zamora Linmark
R. Zamora Linmark
R. Zamora Linmark was born in Manila and raised and educated in Hawaii. A poet, novelist, and playwright, he has published seven poetry collections and novels, and written three plays. He also edited Eh, No Talk Li’Dat, a multi-genre book about Hawai‘i Creole English, forthcoming from Kaya Press.
Literary Fiction, Literary Nonfiction, Literature, Poetry
2026
About R. Zamora Linmark
Honolulu, HI
Poet, novelist, and playwright R. Zamora Linmark has published three multi-genre novels, most recently, The Importance of Being Wilde at Heart , and Rolling The R’s , which he’d adapted for the stage. He also published four poetry collections and wrote three plays. He is the recipient of grants from the NEA in Creative Writing, U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission, and two from the Fulbright Foundation. In 2026, Kaya Press will publish the groundbreaking Eh, No Talk Li’Dat , which he compiled and edited, about Hawai‘i’s Creole language that was borne from the sugar plantation camps in the 1920s and co-created by Native Hawaiians and migrant indentured servants. His writings center mostly on race, queer sexuality, and the parallel colonial history of the two places he considers home, Hawaii and the Philippines. Current projects include a play, Disquietude , and his proposed Creative Capital project, Open Mic @ Mandoo Lily’s Never-Ending Memorial Service , a multi-genre novel chronicling the first forty days of grief as documented by the poet and dear friend of the deceased and matriarch of the framily, Mandoo Lily.
Poet, novelist, and playwright R. Zamora Linmark has published three multi-genre novels, most recently, The Importance of Being Wilde at Heart , and Rolling The R’s , which he’d adapted for the stage. He also published four poetry collections and wrote three plays. He is the recipient of grants from the NEA in Creative Writing, U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission, and two from the Fulbright Foundation. In 2026, Kaya Press will publish the groundbreaking Eh, No Talk Li’Dat , which he compiled and edited, about Hawai‘i’s Creole language that was borne from the sugar plantation camps in the 1920s and co-created by Native Hawaiians and migrant indentured servants. His writings center mostly on race, queer sexuality, and the parallel colonial history of the two places he considers home, Hawaii and the Philippines. Current projects include a play, Disquietude , and his proposed Creative Capital project, Open Mic @ Mandoo Lily’s Never-Ending Memorial Service , a multi-genre novel chronicling the first forty days of grief as documented by the poet and dear friend of the deceased and matriarch of the framily, Mandoo Lily.