At the 2012 Northern California Publishers & Authors (NCPA) Awards Banquet on April 30, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii by Frances H. Kakugawa was named the “Best Non-Fiction” book, adding to the accolades Watermark’s authors have been honored to receive this year! (Earlier wins: the IACP Cookbook Award for Chef Alan Wong’s The Blue Tomato and a sweep of the Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association Ka Palapala Po‘okela Awards in the Cookbook Division for A Sweet Dash of Aloha and The Hawai‘i Book of Rice.)

Of Kapoho, the judges said, “Using a series of seamlessly integrated vignettes, Frances Kakugawa has given us a picture of what it was like to grow up in a small village during WWII in Hawaii – the attitudes, beliefs, fears, and hopes of the people who lived there.”

Author Frances Kakugawa blogged about receiving the award:

When a phone call comes late at night, it’s only natural to think of an emergency. On April 29th, the phone rang while I was in Hawaii on a lecture/book tour and it was good news. I received the award from NCPA President Ted Witt yesterday here in Sacramento. What an honor to not only receive this award but to be in the company of NCPA members who inspire and support writers and publishers in northern California.

And long-time friend and entertainment writer Wayne Harada wrote in his column:

“Isle author Frances Kaku­gawa, now Sacramento-based but back for the Hawaii Book & Music Festival this weekend at the Civic Center grounds, had a successful reading of her latest, “Kapoho,” Tuesday night  at Volcanoes National Park. She also participated in a festival panel Saturday — buoyed by good news that “Kapoho” won the best nonfiction book laurels at the 2012 Northern California Publishers & Authors Award banquet a week ago. …

The award validates Kaku­gawa’s accomplishments as a lifetime teacher and poet, and duly recognizes what’s near and dear to her heart: her roots, and her compelling manner in weaving a story. She makes the personal universal, simultaneously enlightening and entertaining the reader. Originally from Kapoho’s volcanic turf, Kaku­gawa is a former Hono­lulu teacher-educator and knowledgeably speaks on care-giving and Alz­hei­mer’s.”

Congratulations to Frances and all our other hard-working, talented authors and all those who put their creative energies into these wonderful books!