Chris McKinney

Biography


Chris McKinney was born in Honolulu and grew up in Kahaluu on the island of Oahu. He portrays the island experience from the inside, where children of mixed ethnicity grow up far from the clear water and pristine beaches of the rich visitors' resorts.

Chris McKinney is the author of five novels, The Tattoo, The Queen of Tears, Bolohead Row, Mililani Mauka, and the soon-to-be-released Boi No Good, and has written a feature film screenplay, Paradise Broken, and a short film, The Back Door, both of which premiered at the 2011 Hawaii International Film Festival. He also has twelve years of teaching experience as an associate professor at Honolulu Community College and was recently appointed Visiting Distinguished Writer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

He and his wife, Mika McKinney, just opened the Chris McKinney Language Arts Center, which offers reading and writing courses for elementary school children and teens and adults who want to learn how to write essays, fiction, and screenplays. It is located in Mililani, Hawaii. For more information, go to Chris McKinney Language Arts Center

Selected Works

Education
Our school located in Mililani, Hawaii.
Screenplay
"I’ve always been hesitant to check out local productions only because for such a long time there hasn’t been anything all that great. From commercials to the stuff on OC16, there is a lot of locally produced stuff that is really lame, kinda cheesy, or just plain tacky–and it was because of all of this that turned me off from local productions. Paradise Broken changed all that. It made me realize that we do have people who are doing great things in Hawaii."--Red Band Project
Fiction
"A book about 'the sins of the fathers'.... A gritty, troubling book and he's done it well. The issues he raises are key to Hawaii today and for future generations."—Honolulu Advertiser
"McKinney's portrait of a besieged woman within a multicultural, multigenerational family saga poignantly and powerfully dramatizes the troubles women face, the pan-Asian melting pot of Hawaiian culture, and the conflicts inherent in Americanization."
--Booklist
"This is starting to feel like Chris McKinney's time. While his early novel The Tattoo launched him into the consciousness of local educators and literary types, his latest offering, Mililani Mauka, explores new emotional and physical terrain, and promises to grow the Honolulu Community College professor's audience."
--Honolulu Weekly
"Bolohead Row" is well written and potentially very important for its ability to reflect — and, one hopes, reach — young adults who might benefit from the warnings implicit in the wreckage of Charlie's life, and the hope engendered by the turn he appears to be taking when the book ends." --Honolulu Advertiser

Quick Links

PBS Hawaii Interview 2011
Honolulu Advertiser Interview 2009
Honolulu Weekly Interview 2009
Honolulu Weekly Interview 2001
Honolulu Star-Bulletin Interview 2001
Honolulu Star-Bulletin Interview 2000
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