Position, Department
Associate Professor, Language Arts,
Contact Information
Email address: cdmckinn@hawaii.edu
Courses Taught
- ENG 100
- ENG 207WI – Fiction Workshop
- ENG 250WI – American Literature
Service
- Division Personnel Committee 2015 – 2017
- TPRC Committees 2015 – Present
Professional Activities
Chris McKinney is a Korean, Japanese, Scottish American writer born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the author of the Water City trilogy. Book one was named a Best Mystery of 2021 by Publisher’s Weekly and a Best Speculative Mystery of 2021 by CrimeReads. All three books received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, and Booklist called book three a “satisfying conclusion to a magnificent trilogy (that) offers a real treat for sf fans.” In 2024, Honolulu Magazine named McKinney “Author of the Year” for his Water City trilogy.
Chris has written six other novels: The Tattoo, The Queen of Tears, Bolohead Row, Mililani Mauka, Boi No Good, and Yakudoshi: Age of Calamity.
In 2011, Chris was appointed Visiting Distinguished Writer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Over the years, he has won one Elliot Cades Award and seven Kapalapala Pookela Awards.
Chris currently resides in Honolulu with his wife and two daughters.
