Lani Wendt Young
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Lani Wendt Young is a Samoan–New Zealand writer, editor, publisher and journalist. She is the author of 15 books including the bestselling
young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
series ''Telesa''.


Background

Wendt Young was born and raised in
Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...
,
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
. Her father was Samoan from the villages of Lefaga, Vaiala, Sapapalii, and Malie. Her mother is New Zealand
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
of the
Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...
tribe.


Career

In May 2025, Young was celebrated in the 'Resilient Spirit Project: Portraits of Women Warriors', a project by the Samoa Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development that honored thirty Samoan women who have shaped Samoa's history and continue to lead its future, at the grassroots and national levels. In February 2019, Young was the recipient of a New Zealand Society of Authors Waitangi Day Honor. In accepting the award, Young said: Young was the 2018 ACP Pacific Laureate, selected by the Africa, Caribbean, Pacific Group of States. The writer prize recognises creativity, courage and entrepreneurship. The prize acknowledged her fiction writing, utilising of digital publishing to take Samoan stories to a global audience, and also her journalism. Wendt Young was a co-founder of the online media site Samoa Planet. In May 2018 she was the recipient of the Douglas Gabb Australia Pacific Journalism Internship, hosted by ABC News and the Australian Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 2017, she was one of 10 "outstanding journalists" from the Pacific selected to report on the
2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) was an international meeting of political leaders, non-state actors and activists to discuss environmental issues. It was held at UN Campus in Bonn, Germany, during 6–17 November 2 ...
, held in
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
, Germany. She is the author of the young adult fantasy '' Telesa'' series, which has been described as the Pacific version of ''
Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...
'', and credited with helping to inspire young Pacific people around the world to read fiction from Oceania. The story is set in modern
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
and is inspired by ancient mythology. In 2015, Wendt Young published two books in her contemporary romance series: ''Scarlet Secrets'' and ''Scarlet Lies''. A third book, ''Scarlet Redemption'', was published in 2019. In 2011 Young's ''Sleepless in Samoa: A Collection of Short Fiction'' won the USP Press Prize for Fiction. It was later published as ''Afakasi Woman: A Collection of Short Fiction''. She also writes stories for children, which have been published by the ''
New Zealand School Journal The ''New Zealand School Journal'' is a periodical children's educational publication in New Zealand. Founded in 1907 by the Ministry of Education (New Zealand), Department of Education, it is one of the world's longest-running publications for ...
''. She was commissioned in 2009 to research and write ''Pacific Tsunami Galu Afi''. The book gave accounts of over 180 survivors, rescuers, medical teams and aid workers from
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
,
American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...
and the Tongan island of
Niuatoputapu Niuatoputapu (''The Sacred Niua'') is a volcanic island in the island nation of Tonga, Pacific Ocean. Its highest point is , and its area is . Its name means ''sacred island''. Older names for the island are Traitors Island or Keppel Island. ...
. The printing of the book was funded by the
Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...
. In 2002 she won the Telecom Samoa
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
competition. Her short fiction has since been published in collections in New Zealand, Australia and Samoa. Young has called blogging her "first writing love" and her blog ''Sleepless in Samoa'' has an international following. She chronicles with wry humor, the parenting journey raising 5 children. She also writes about feminism, religion,
climate justice Climate justice is a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or otherwise vulnerable populations. Climate justice seeks to achieve an equitable distribution of both the burdens of clima ...
and LGBTI/faafafine/faatama in Oceania. She is an advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse and has written at length about family violence in Samoa. The ACP Secretariat said of Young: Her book, ''Fire's Caress'', was shortlisted for the young adult fiction award at the 2021
New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children's and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards were founded in 1982, and have had severa ...
. In August 2022 it won the
Sir Julius Vogel Award The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are awarded each year at the New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in New Zealand science fiction, fantasy, horror, and science fiction fandom. They are commonly referred to as the ...
for "best youth novel". In August 2021 she released ''Mata Oti'' ('Eyes of Death'), the first
Zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a subgenre of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Usually, only a few individuals or small bands of human survivors are left living. There are many d ...
story set in Samoa. A seventh book in her ''Telesa'' series, ''Earth's Embrace'', was published in April 2022.


References


External links

*
Sleepless in Samoa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wendt-Young, Lani 1973 births Living people Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand women novelists Samoan women novelists Samoan expatriates in New Zealand People from Apia Ngāti Kahungunu people