Against a backdrop of economic hardship, housing instability, cultural transition, and environmental loss, Carreira Ching’s new collection, Blood Work and Other Stories, focuses on the complexities of identity, family, and belonging. His characters live in a Hawai’i far removed from tourist postcards, navigating grief, displacement, and intergenerational trauma. Still, in the overlooked corners of the islands, they hold tight to the connections that root them in community.

Donald Carreira Ching was born and raised in Kahaluʻu on the island of Oʻahu. His debut novel, Between Sky and Sea: A Family’s Struggle, was published by Bamboo Ridge Press in 2015 and was awarded the Ka Palapala Poʻokela award for excellence in literature, honorable mention, and is listed by Honolulu Magazine as one of Hawaiʻi’s “essential books.” His collection, Blood Work and Other Stories, was released this year. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Writing at Leeward Community College.

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