Manuia Heinrich
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heinrichmanuia.bsky.social
Manuia Heinrich
@heinrichmanuia.bsky.social
750 followers 200 following 120 posts
Mā’ohi author of SALT WATER BLOOD (Simon & Schuster - Allen & Unwin '26) 🏝️ Doctor in Pacific Studies & Cofounder Pacific Islanders in Publishing • Rep: @marintakikawa.bsky.social 🌺 manuiaheinrich.com GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222438787-sa
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heinrichmanuia.bsky.social
✨character art reveal✨
excited for y'all to meet moemoana & temanea, my investigative duo who can crack any case… except their own chemistry😂she’s obsessed with math, he’s obsessed with her (not that he’ll admit it).
add to gr! goodreads.com/book/show/22... (art littlelundmark23 on ig)
character art commission: two teenagers standing back-to-back on a beach. The girl wears a checkered shirt tied around her waist, a black top, and shorts. The boy is in a gray T-shirt and a surf watch. Palm tree leaves frame the scene. temporary book cover: title 'salt water blood' by heinrich manuia, coming out with simon & schuster, summer 2026. the cover is dark blue with thin blue lines imitating waves. the background is light blue. at the top is an 'add to goodreads' icon.
April 11, 2025 at 10:21 PM
heinrichmanuia.bsky.social
Publishing is weird. I just got a year-old agent rejection followd by my 1st author payment. For my book that got 8 offers of rep & sold in just over a week at auction🙃 Your reminder that rejections are subjective

Join my weird journey, add SWB on Goodreads. I’d be forever grateful💞 bit.ly/3CNgGXR
Two text images> One agent rejection email screenshot: "I first want to apologize for the long delay in my reply, and I recognize that you may have already moved on. Waiting is one of the most difficult parts of this business, and I'm sorry that it took me such an unusually long time to respond. I really appreciate the opportunity to consider SALT WATER BLOOD, and I wish I were writing to you with better news. Unfortunately this project is not the right fit for me,..." A Publishers Marketplace Deal Report: "We Need Diverse Books mentee and Pacific Islanders in Publishing cofounder Manuia Heinrich's SALT WATER BLOOD, a speculative thriller set on an alternate Polynesian island following a girl who hears the sea's prophetic thoughts and has to race against time to clear her brother's name before he's blamed for his girlfriend's disappearance-and eventual murder-set against the backdrop of mounting tension around France's nuclear testing on the people of Ma'ohi Nui (French Polynesia), pitched as FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER meets MOANA, to Sarah Barley at Sarah Barley Books, in a significant deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2026, by Marin Takikawa at Friedrich Agency (NA). Rights also to Anna McFarlane at Allen & Unwin (ANZ), at auction, by Anna Carmichael at Abner Stein, on behalf of Marin Takikawa."
February 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
heinrichmanuia.bsky.social
Excited to introduce you to SALT WATER BLOOD🌊🩸If you like YA thrillers with a touch of fantasy & enemies-to-lovers romance, check out my reader’s guide ✨

Coming in 2026 with S&S /Allen & Unwin, and you can add it to your Goodreads shelf now!😊 www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...

#YAbooks #books
A dark green island background photo with bold white lettered words: A reader’s guide to SALT WATER BLOOD. The same dark green island background photo with the white text in the center: “pitch: 18yo Moemoana has a gift that's more of a curse: hearing the sea's prophetic thoughts. When her brother is framed for murder, she teams up with her school rival, Temanea, to clear his name. But with the sea warning the killer is coming for her next, her gift may be the only thing that can save them both.” Dark green island background photo titled “comps” with three book covers: Firekeeper’s Daughter, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, and Island of Shattered Dreams. Dark green island background photo titled “vibes” with the following tropes/themes listed in white letters: “Polynesian rep, sentient island, enemies to detective partners to [eyes emoji], only one wardrobe, unapologetically anticolonial, enchanted pastries, you won't guess who did it.”
December 20, 2024 at 7:02 PM
heinrichmanuia.bsky.social
You can now add SALT WATER BLOOD on ✨Goodreads!✨ (link in bio!)

I’ve been dreaming of this moment for so long, and it’s finally here! To everyone who adds it to their shelves, thank you from the bottom of my salty little heart—you mean the world to me! 🌊💙

#writingcommunity #goodreads
a blue mockup book cover of YA speculative thriller SALT WATER BLOOD by Heinrich Manuia. List of tropes: a sentient island, polynesian rep, ‘you won’t guess who did it’, environmental activism, school rivals to investigation buddies to 👀, only one wardrobe. Add to Goodreads.
December 14, 2024 at 8:51 PM
heinrichmanuia.bsky.social
Ending my vague era with this: ✨I’m getting published!✨

So pumped to announce that my book SALT WATER BLOOD will be published with Simon & Schuster (US) + Allen & Unwin (ANZ) in 2026!

Endless gratitude to my agent @marintakikawa.bsky.social & my editor Sarah Barley 💖

#booksky #writingcommunity
Snapshot of a deal report on a sea background. Text on a white square: Category: Young Adult Fiction SALT WATER BLOOD by Manuia HEINRICH. Imprint: Sarah Barley Books, Allen & Unwin We Need Diverse Books mentee and Pacific Islanders in Publishing cofounder Manuia Heinrich's SALT WATER BLOOD, a speculative thriller set on an alternate Polynesian island following a girl who hears the sea's prophetic thoughts and has to race against time to clear her brother's name before he's blamed for his girlfriend's disappearance-and eventual murder-set against the backdrop of mounting tension around France's nuclear testing on the people of Ma'ohi Nui (French Polynesia), pitched as FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER meets MOANA, to Sarah Barley at Sarah Barley Books, in a significant deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2026, by Marin Takikawa at Friedrich Agency (NA). Rights also to Anna McFarlane at Allen & Unwin (ANZ), at auction, by Anna Carmichael at Abner Stein, on behalf of Marin Takikawa.
December 5, 2024 at 7:56 PM
heinrichmanuia.bsky.social
SALT WATER BLOOD - a YA speculative thriller

(Firekeeper’s Daughter x Moana)

🏝️Polynesian rep
❣️Enemies.. stuck together
🔪 Twists for days
🌊 Eco-activism

#writingcommunity #booksky
a collage of four pictures: someone attempting to rescue another person in the sea; a boy on a surfboard in the water; a Polynesian girl with a flower in her hair, holding a large leaf; and a picture of a lush island taken from the sea (cred k. baldassari, ai tahiti nui, e. tahmida). the text in the centre reads: when her brother is accused of murder, her gift-hearing the sea's prophetic thoughts— may be the only way to catch the killer. an indigenous Polynesian speculative thriller that is FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER meets DARK AND SHALLOW LIES
November 23, 2024 at 5:46 AM