Our AAS 2026 featured books and journals reflect the breadth and depth of contemporary Asian Studies research. These titles engage topics including colonialism and empire, intellectual history, cultural production, religion, and political life, offering new perspectives grounded in archival research, ethnography, and interdisciplinary analysis.
Award-Winning Titles at AAS 2026
University of Hawaiʻi Press is honored to celebrate two award-winning titles recognized by the Association for Asian Studies in 2026 for their outstanding scholarly contributions.
Even in the Rain: Uyghur Music in Modern China by Chuen-Fung Wong is the winner of the E. Gene Smith Inner Asia Book Prize, which recognizes exceptional and innovative research on Inner Asia. This book examines Uyghur musical life in contemporary China, revealing how musicians navigate cultural identity, artistic practice, and political pressure. Through ethnographic insight and musical analysis, Wong demonstrates how music functions as a powerful site of expression, memory, and resilience.
Epistemology of the Past: Texts, History, and Intellectuals of Cambodia, 1855–1970 by Theara Thun received an Honorable Mention for the Harry J. Benda Prize, awarded annually to an outstanding first book in Southeast Asian studies. This landmark study explores the development of historical knowledge in Cambodia by centering the intellectuals, texts, and scholarly practices that shaped understandings of the past during a period of colonialism, nationalism, and political transformation.
Explore Our New Asian Studies Titles & Journals
In addition to these prize-winning books, University of Hawaiʻi Press’s AAS 2026 featured titles and journals highlight recent and notable publications across Asian Studies and related fields. These works showcase cutting-edge research and diverse methodological approaches that speak to key debates shaping the discipline today.
To view the complete list of University of Hawaiʻi Press titles available for AAS 2026, please scroll to the bottom of this page, where you’ll find a link to our full conference selection in one place.
Receive 30% off with code AAS2026 through May 31, 2026. Visit us at Booth 325–327 in Vancouver or shop online.
We are proud to publish an extensive list of Pacific, Asian, and Southeast Asian studies journals. This Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month, explore and enjoy the following free journal content online:
(HONOLULU, Hawai‘i) The University of Hawai‘i Press celebrates the 30th Anniversary for three influential university-based journals—The Contemporary Pacific, Journal of World History, and Mānoa—in collaboration with the Center for Pacific Island Studies, Department of History, and the Department of English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
In the past three decades, these journals have attracted a growing, global audience for more than 6,300 articles read in over 170 countries. The Journal of World History served as a pioneer in the field of world history and continues to publish quality peer-reviewed articles and special issues quarterly. Research published in The Contemporary Pacific has shaped an entire field of Pacific Studies and has often demonstrated foresight and long-lasting relevance. Indeed, the journal kicked off its first issue in 1989 with an article on the potential impacts of climate change in the Pacific. Also among the journal’s most cited pieces are features published in its political reviews section which document the local and regional politics of Pacific Islands states. Mānoa brings to light new translations of international literature, highlighting the work of both emerging and established translators and authors, including Pulitzer Prize winners and Nobel laureates. In 2018 alone, works from the three journals garnered more than one-quarter million downloads.
The journals were founded in 1989 in response to the university president’s call to expand the journals published by UH Press. “Since being awarded the modest, three-year start-up funding, these journals now annually reach tens of thousands of researchers, scholars, students, and the general public,” said Joel Cosseboom, Interim Press Director & Publisher.
A special celebration was held at College Hill on March 13, commemorating the 30th anniversary of their founding. Learn more about The Contemporary Pacific, Journal of World History, and Mānoa below and at www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/journals.
ISSN: 1043-898X / E-ISSN: 1527-9464 Published twice a year.
Founding Editorial Team: Robert Kiste, Terence Wesley-Smith, David Hanlon, Brij Lal and Linley Chapman. Awarded Best New Journal (1990) from the Association of American Publishers. The journal editorial office is supported by the Center for Pacific Island Studies.
The journal covers a wide range of disciplines with the aim of providing comprehensive coverage of contemporary developments in the entire Pacific Islands region, including Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. It features refereed, readable articles that examine social, economic, political, ecological, and cultural topics, along with political reviews, book and media reviews, resource reviews, and a dialogue section with interviews and short essays. Each issue highlights the work of a Pacific Islander artist.
ISSN: 1045-6007 / E-ISSN: 1527-8050
Published quarterly.
Founding Editor, Jerry Bentley with Imre Bard as Book Review Editor. Awarded Best New Journal (1990) from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals. The journal editorial office is supported by the Department of History.
JWH publishes research into historical questions requiring the investigation of evidence on a global, comparative, cross-cultural, or transnational scale. It is devoted to the study of phenomena that transcend the boundaries of single states, regions, or cultures, such as large-scale population movements, long-distance trade, cross-cultural technology transfers, and the transnational spread of ideas. Individual subscription is by membership in the World History Association.
ISSN: 1045-7909 / E-ISSN: 1527-943X Published twice a year.
Founding Editors, Frank Stewart and Robert Shapard. Works in MĀNOA have been cited for excellence by the editors of such anthologies as Best American Short Stories, Best American Poetry, Best American Essays, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, and Pushcart Prize. The journal editorial office is supported by the Department of English.
Mānoa is a unique, award-winning literary journal that includes American and international fiction, poetry, artwork, and essays of current cultural or literary interest. An outstanding feature of each issue is original translations of contemporary work from Asian and Pacific nations, selected for each issue by a special guest editor. Beautifully produced, Mānoa presents traditional alongside contemporary writings from the entire Pacific Rim, one of the world’s most dynamic literary regions.
The University of Hawai‘i Press supports the mission of the university
through the publication of books and journals of exceptional merit. It strives to advance knowledge through the dissemination of scholarship—new information, interpretations, methods of analysis—with a primary focus on Asian, Pacific, Hawaiian, Asian American, and global studies. It also serves the public interest by providing high-quality books and resource materials of educational value on topics related to Hawai‘i’s people, culture, and natural environment. Through its publications, the Press seeks to stimulate public debate and educate both within and outside the classroom.
UH Press is a member of the Association of University Presses and the Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association. The Press has also partnered with museums and associations to bring new or out-of-print titles into circulation, and offers publishing services for authors and partnering organizations.
News Release Date: March 19, 2019
Media contact: Pamela Wilson, Journals Manager [email protected]
808-956-6790
Stop by and say hello as you browse through our display copies and catalogs. You may also pick up an order form at our booth or place your orders online at www.uhpress.hawaii.edu.
We look forward to seeing you in cold, snowy Toronto!
