T Kira Madden

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T Kira Madden
Madden at the 2019 Texas Book Festival
Madden at the 2019 Texas Book Festival
BornJuly 20, 1988 (1988-07-20) (age 37)
Miami, Florida
OccupationAuthor
Alma materThe New School (BBA)
Sarah Lawrence College (MFA)
SpouseHannah Beresford
Website
tkiramadden.com

T Kira Māhealani Madden is a Kanaka 'Ōiwi writer.[1] She is the author of the memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of No Tokens Journal. In 2021, she received Lambda Literary's Judith A. Markowitz Award for Exceptional New LGBTQ Writers.[2][3]

Her debut novel, Whidbey, was published by Mariner Books in March 2026.[4] The Chicago Review of Books listed it as one of "Our Most Anticipated Books of 2026."[5]

Background and education

T Kira Māhealani Madden grew up in Boca Raton, Florida.[6] She is the niece of American fashion designer Steve Madden and the cousin of artist A.V. Phibes.[7]

Madden has described herself "as a full-fucking-blown 50-footer lesbian".[8] Of the queer material in her memoir, she has said, "I always knew I was gay, but I didn't understand the knowing, and that feels really true to me...As much as I wanted to front load the book with queer material, this feels truer to how I lived it. It was always present and by my side but it was operating in a different plane."[8]

Madden's father was Jewish and her mother is Chinese and Hawaiian.[6] Of her multiracial upbringing, she has said:

"My mother, as a Chinese Hawaiian woman, was raised in a Mormon household with Buddhist grandparents. And my father is of course Jewish from Long Island. They always let me learn about every different religion, every culture. I went to temple, I went to church, we did Chinese New Year's — we did everything. They told me: Wherever you find your place, that's your place. We're not gonna tell you where you belong. So that mix — which was confusing at the time — is something that was really part of my becoming [by] learning about all those different components of my identity."[6]

Madden received a B.B.A. in design and literature from Parsons School of Design and Eugene Lang College at The New School. She also holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She facilitates writing workshops for homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals, served as the Distinguished Writer in Residence at University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, and currently teaches at Hamilton College as an assistant professor in Creative Writing and Indigenous literatures.[9]

Madden is also a photographer and an amateur magician.[1]

Career

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls

At a writers' residency after the death of her father, Madden intended to work on a novel. Instead, she found herself writing nonfiction, which turned into her memoir.[8]

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls was published in March 2019 from Bloomsbury.[10] In Literary Hub, Madden describes it as "a coming-of-age memoir growing up in Boca Raton, Florida, in a very privileged Jewish community as a biracial, queer girl with a lot of family secrets: two addict parents and a famous family, as well."[11]

In The New York Times, Tessa Fontaine said of Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, "This is a fearless debut that carries as much tenderness as pain. The author never shrinks from putting herself back into the world after every hurt, and we are lucky for it...it's all compulsively readable, not just because of those big themes, but because of the embodied, needle-fine moments that make the stories sing."[12]

Electric Literature said, "What makes Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls so exceptional is the compassion Madden brings to the page."[13] Ilana Masad at NPR said, "In baring the bad and ugly alongside the good, Madden has succeeded in creating a mirror of larger concerns, even as her own story is achingly specific and personal."[14]

Kirkus Reviews said, "Though the author's aching emotional rawness sometimes makes for difficult reading, this is a deeply courageous work that chronicles one artist's jagged—and surprisingly beautiful—path to wholeness. Affecting, fearless, and unsparingly honest."[15]

When asked what she hopes others take away from the book, Madden said, "I hope people feel the power of being an outsider."[6]

No Tokens Journal

Madden is the founding Editor-in-Chief of No Tokens Journal, which describes itself as "a journal celebrating work that is felt in the spine." They are run entirely by women and non-binary individuals.[16]

Madden has said that No Tokens was founded because "there was and is a need for more balance in publishing. There is a need for people to start paying attention, and I'm glad so many are. I admired what VIDA was doing; I admired many journals and publishers who said, 'We're here. Look.' It is unacceptable to ignore the numbers, and I wanted to be a part of that response."[17]

On editing, she's said "Being an editor sharpens the eye and ear, yada yada, of course, but really, if we're talking artistic development, founding and editing a journal has taught me everything about generosity and community building. The longer I'm here, the more I believe those qualities matter as much as craft."[18]

Whidbey: A Novel

Madden's debut novel, Whidbey, was published by Mariner Books on March 10, 2026 and became an instant National Bestseller.[19] The novel follows the perspectives of "three women connected through their experience with a child sexual abuser in the aftermath of his murder."[20] The book received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, and was recommended by The New York Times.[4][21][22]

Kirkus Reviews wrote, "Moving among multiple perspectives that showcase a gift for creating in-depth, psychologically complex character portraits, Madden weaves a dark, propulsive narrative. As unrelenting as it is probing and compassionate, this extraordinary novel addresses themes—like childhood sexual assault and damaged love—that eloquently force readers out of their comfort zones. A searingly original novel that examines the impact of sexual trauma on the human psyche."[21]

In an interview with Madden, Emma Specter at Vogue wrote, "There is, to put it simply, no book quite like Whidbey, a literary thriller that braids together the perspectives of three protagonists—two survivors of childhood sexual abuse and the mother of their recently deceased abuser—with skill and astonishing empathy."[23]

Electric Literature noted, "In Madden’s hands, this noir revenge story is full of so much more than blood... Madden’s debut novel subverts notions of power and powerlessness, particularly regarding women’s bodies, while asking complex questions about honesty and culpability."[24]

The novel was named one of "The Best Books of 2026" lists by Vogue and Esquire.[25][26]

Bibliography

Novels

Nonfiction

References

  1. "About - T Kira Madden". www.tkiramadden.com. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  2. Essen, Leah Rachel von (2021-06-02). "Announcing the Winners of the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards". Book Riot. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  3. "2021 Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced". PublishersWeekly.com. 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  4. "Whidbey by T Kira Madden". www.publishersweekly.com. December 10, 2025. Retrieved 2026-01-03.
  5. "Our Most Anticipated Books of 2026". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
  6. "Writer T Kira Madden on Growing Up Queer, Jewish, Chinese, and Hawaiian in Boca Raton". Alma. 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  7. "Weekly Sunday Edition". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  8. "How Queer Memoirist T Kira Madden Tackles Trauma with Lyricism". them. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  9. "T Kira Māhealani Madden: Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing". hamilton.edu.
  10. Bloomsbury.com. "Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls". Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  11. "T Kira Madden on Writing Into the Space of Her Father's Absence". Literary Hub. 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  12. Fontaine, Tessa (2019-04-19). "A Queer, Biracial Coming-of-Age Memoir Is Equal Parts Pain and Pleasure". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  13. "T Kira Madden's Memoir Is a Love Letter to Misfits". Electric Literature. 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  14. Masad, Ilana (6 March 2019). "'Long Live The Tribe Of Fatherless Girls' Is Compassionate, Without Being Apologetic". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  15. "Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden". Kirkus Reviews.
  16. "Mission". No Tokens. 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  17. "Interview with No Tokens". American Microreviews & Interviews. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  18. "The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #166: T Kira Madden - The Rumpus.net". therumpus.net. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  19. "Whidbey". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  20. "T Kira Madden Casts a Spell". elle.com. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  21. "Whidbey by T Kira Madden". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  22. "Somebody Killed Her Assailant. Was Justice Served?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  23. Specter, Emma. "T Kira Madden on Finding a Safe Place to Land With Her Searching New Novel, Whidbey". Vogue. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  24. ""Whidbey" Confronts the Fantasy of Revenge". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  25. "The Best Books of 2026". Vogue. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  26. "The Best Books of 2026 (so far)". Esquire. Retrieved 2026-06-11.