Waka is a Stanford graduate with a B.A. in International Relations and a Master’s in Secondary Education. She has authored the following children’s books through Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins Children’s Books:

While I Was Away (2021) is her debut novel.

Dream, Annie, Dream (2022) is her first work of historical fiction.

The Very Unfortunate Wish of Melony Yoshimura (2023) is a contemporary re-imagining of the Japanese folktale, “The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku.”

Perfect, her debut picture book (illustrated by Yuko Jones), publishes on Oct. 1, 2024.