Author. Travel writer. Film producer. Underwater photographer.
Storyteller at heart.

Pier Nirandara is an award-winning author, travel writer, film producer, and underwater photographer. She began her career as Thailand’s youngest English-writing author of three #1 national bestselling novels, graphic novels, and short stories with over 200,000 copies sold. Since then, she has represented literary clients at ICM Partners, served as Director of Development at Sony Pictures, and as VP of Film & TV at A-Major Media, Hollywood’s first Asian American-driven production company.

A TEDx speaker and literary ambassador for the Bangkok Metropolitan/UNESCO, her words have won multiple Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing of the Year, Lowell Thomas Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers, and can be found in AFAR, Lonely Planet, Catapult, Off Assignment, Adventure.com, Oceanographic Magazine and more.

Pier is also a PADI AmbassaDiver™, co-chair of the Los Angeles hub for Oceanic Global, and founder of Immersiv Expeditions, where she leads trips to swim with marine wildlife. Her photography has been recognized by competitions including Ocean Photographer of the Year, and she was awarded the 2023 Ocean Storytelling Photography Grant by the Save Our Seas Foundation. An advocate for solo female travel, she has visited over 100 countries across 7 continents, and can be found in Los Angeles, Cape Town, and @piersgreatperhaps.

From swimming with sharks in Hollywood to swimming with actual sharks. After traveling to over 90 countries across 7 continents, Pier discusses the philosophy of embracing a giant stride into the unknown.

Recent Adventures

Fish hide beneath the bell of a jellyfish floating off the coast of Thailand. While the abundance of these stinging cnidaria is often overlooked – especially during the rainy season – paying closer attention reveals weirdly unique and won
Why photography? Because photography is the art of telling a story, and stories have the ability to connect. It’s one thing to take pretty pictures, another to evoke a reaction in your audience and make them feel. Empathy, awe, horror—th
CORAL GARDENERS THAILAND This month, I had the immense privilege of joining the @coralgardeners team and fellow Ambassadors @ployscott @notep @meganhassa on Koh Mak to prepare for the official launch of Coral Gardeners in Thailand. It was truly spec
B R E A T H E Last year’s frenetic pace left me feeling uncharacteristically overwhelmed and drained — to the point where it was difficult to fully enjoy the abundance of wonderful opportunities coming my way anymore. It took slowing dow
I read somewhere once that a shark in a tank will grow 8 inches, but in the ocean it will grow 8 feet or more. That a shark will never outgrow its environment, and the same is true about you: change your environment and watch your growth. I’m
A season spent at the tip of the African continent. In some ways, life on the Cape Peninsula felt like a quiet revolution against modern America: the convenient, consumerist, capitalistic hamster wheel of perpetual motion. It encouraged slowing down,
Surprise encounters: a sailfish off the coast of Dominica. Whip fast and majestically photogenic, this one showed up out of nowhere, its fin slicing through the surface like a fan. Even our captain was shocked by its proximity. It seemed a little spo
This was fun :) Episode out now with @asianpacificvoices — available wherever you listen to podcasts 🤍 - Pier Nirandara is an award-winning author, travel writer, film producer, and underwater photographer. She began her career as Thailand&
Dominica dreams… 💭 Swimming with false killer whales, one of the wildest encounters of my life.
WORLD’S FIRST SPERM WHALE RESERVE: In a historic move, the island nation of Dominica recently created a marine protected area to ensure the protection of the sperm whale population in its waters. The move is incredibly exciting—and a symb
After skunking on our first water day (rough weather and no whales), we decided to take a risk and use the second day for land activities. Arriving at a nondescript gorge armed with nothing but swimsuits and snorkels, we swam inside with low expectat
As I sift through the countless moments of magic from an expedition last month, I feel the daunting pressure of perfectionism. I’ve always enjoyed the process of photography more than the post-processing — perhaps because it’s alway
“The magic we are looking for is in the work we are avoiding.” So much more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, but snapped smiling by @sarah.teng on one of the happiest days in recent memory.
Eternally grateful to judges at the Eighteenth Annual Solas Awards by @travelerstalesbooks for awarding my work the following: - Bronze for the Grand Prize for Best Travel Story of the Year (second year in a row!) for “To the Thai Woman Who Tou
That day we swam with FALSE KILLER WHALES. We went out searching for sperm whales, only to realize they had all fled the area - possibly due to the presence of false killer whales, which are rumored to hunt their young. Moments later, a large dorsa
Ocean fam! I’m beyond excited to announce the publication of “The Ocean Speaks” — a collection of extraordinary and awe-inspiring stories from around the world and under the sea, written by a diverse set of voices in the marin
Honestly is there anything cuter than a baby penguin? My version of Valentine’s Day 🤍🐧
A love letter to the staff and crew of @polarlatitudes aboard MS Seaventure: An expedition to Antarctica is arguably the peak of adventure travel. With any other cruise, there’s a planned itinerary with set ports. But Antarctica is different.