Nalu: History, Legends, and Wisdom from 1,000 Years of Hawaiian Surfing — A Conversation with the Authors
Sunday, September 20, 2026, 5:00 PM PDT – 8:00 PM PDT
The Sea House · 246 N Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024, USA
Hosted by The Sea House
Join us at The Sea House for an evening showcasing the book Nalu: History, Legends, and Wisdom from 1,000 Years of Hawaiian Surfing by authors Marie Alohalani Brown and Ian Lendler. An evening of storytelling, photography, and film with Ian Lendler (in person) and Prof. Marie Alohalani Brown (joining virtually from Hawaii), with Q&A very welcome. More about the book: Containing a mix of gorgeous modern and archival surfing photography, surfing proverbs, ceremonies, and legends of ancient Hawaiʻi, and stories and advice from modern water-sport icons, Nalu provides a comprehensive look at surfing's mother culture and the people who have perfected it. Co-authored by Dr. Marie Alohalani Brown, a distinguished scholar of Hawaiian language and lifelong practitioner of Hawaiian water culture, and Ian Lendler, an award-winning author and dedicated surfer, Nalu draws from historical texts, many of which Alohalani has translated into English for the first time. A vibrant celebration of a time-honored tradition, Nalu is an essential book for those seeking a deeper understanding of surfing, and anyone who feels a connection to the ocean. Dr. Marie Alohalani Brown, Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Hawaiian), is one of the world's leading experts on Hawaiian culture, religion, and language, and one of a handful of scholars who focuses on primary Hawaiian-language resources such as nineteenth-century Hawaiian-language newspapers. She is a professor of Hawaiian religion at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the author of Hawaiian Myths, Gods, and Legends; Ka Poʻe Moʻo Akua: Hawaiian Reptilian Water Deities; Facing the Spears of Change: The Life and Legacy of John Papa ʻĪʻī; and co-author with Cristina Bacchilega of The Penguin’s Book of Mermaids. In 2019, she was one of the thirty-eight kūpuna (elders) who were arrested while trying to protect the sacred mountain Mauna Kea. Ian Lendler is the author of The First Dinosaur, which Kirkus Reviews named a "Best of the Year," and Alcoholica Esoterica, which was featured on NPR and in The Wall Street Journal. He has written many award-winning children’s picture books and graphic novels, including The Fable Life of Aesop and The Stratford Zoo Presents series. His writing has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, Mental Floss, and on CNN. He lives in Northern California, where he is an avid surfer.