Big stories from our little island.
An independent publishing house based on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, creating stories for readers of all ages.
It started with a story. And a very persistent shark.
Duck Island Publishing is an independent publishing house built on a pretty simple idea: stories connect us.
We publish the things we love—children’s books that make little readers laugh, poetry that says the things we sometimes struggle to say out loud, fiction that lets us disappear into another world for a while, and whatever wonderfully creative thing comes next.
Our little publishing house began with two people, a lot of ideas, and one particularly persistent hammerhead shark.
More than 20 years in the making.
More than twenty years ago, we wrote a silly song called Watch Out, Mr. Hammerhead! What started as something fun eventually resurfaced as the idea for a children’s book.
There was only one small problem: we didn’t exactly know how to make a children’s book.
So we learned.
Writing. Drawing. Illustrating. Formatting. Printing. Distribution. Websites. Marketing. Bookstores. ISBNs. And approximately 47,000 other things nobody tells you are involved in making a book.
Somewhere along the way, Duck Island Publishing was born.
What matters on our island.
Creativity
Making room for unusual ideas, big imaginations, experimentation, play and the stories people feel compelled to tell.
Community
Supporting readers, writers, artists, independent bookstores and the communities that make creative work possible.
Connection
Because the best stories help us laugh together, feel understood, discover something new or recognize a little of ourselves in someone else.
What you'll find here.
Today our little island is home to children’s books and poetry, with plenty more already making its way toward shore.
Small on purpose.
We believe books can be playful, strange, vulnerable, funny, beautiful, experimental, deeply personal—or all of those things at once.
Most of all, we believe there should still be room for people to make things simply because they feel compelled to make them.
That's what we're building here.
— Roland & Darian
Come see what's on the island.
Meet our books, our authors and the stories we're sending out into the world.
Explore Our Books →