Welcome to Tuesday Debut, Everyone!

Today’s debut-ess is bringing us a wonderful Armenian tale, and I know you’re all just as excited as I am to hear all about this book and how she came to write it and get it published!

But first, I must announce the winner of last week’s fabulous giveaway – winner’s choice of either a signed copy of TANGO RED RIDING HOOD OR a 30 Minute Ask Me Anything with author Rachel Hobbs!

And the winner is. . . CATHY MEALEY!!!

Congratulations, Cathy! Please email me so I can set you up with your prize!

Second, I must announce that today’s author is also offering a fabulous giveaway: winner’s choice of either a Picture Book Manuscript Critique OR a 30 Minute Ask Me Anything! As usual, all you need to do to qualify for this amazing prize is leave a comment on today’s post by Monday September 25th at 5PM Eastern!

So now, let’s not wait another moment! Please meet today’s debut-ess, Astrid Kamalyan, and have a look at her delightful book, BÁBO: A TALE OF ARMENIAN RUG-WASHING DAY on her actual book birthday! Happy Birthday, Astrid and BÁBO! (Imagine a shower of confetti and a parade in your honor! 😊😊)

Title: Bábo: A Tale of Armenian Rug-Washing Day
Author: Astrid Kamalyan
Illustrator: Anait Semirdzhyan
Publishing House: Charlesbridge
Date of Publication: September 19, 2023
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction Backmatter on Armenian carpet-weaving tradition
Age range: 3-7

 Synopsis: Join Tato and her family as they help Bábo (grandmother) on rug-washing day, in this sweet and playful picture book tribute to Armenian cultural traditions.

Little Tato sneaks a few cherry plums before racing off to help Bábo—her grandmother—with a favorite chore. Each year Tato looks forward to washing the family rugs. With bubbles and suds floating like clouds and snowflakes, Tato and her siblings help Bábo scrub the rugs clean.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Astrid! We’re overjoyed to have you with us today and can’t wait to hear all about how BÁBO: A TALE OF ARMENIAN RUG-WASHING DAY came to be! Where did the idea for this book come from?

ASTRID: BÁBO was inspired by the joyful childhood memories of washing rugs together with my siblings and grandmother. It was on a cold autumn day in Chicago that this sunshiny image lit up in my mind, and I instantly knew I wanted to tell kids about it.

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

ASTRID: I wrote the first draft in 2018, but I kept putting it away to let the story brew in my mind. Several months, sometimes more than six, passed between revisions, so it took me about two years to get to the version that we submitted to the publishers.

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

ASTRID: BÁBO went through several revisions and was unlike my other manuscripts in that I experimented with major aspects like POV, rhyming vs non-rhyming, etc. I am glad I took the time (and courage!) to do that because that what allowed me to find the POV that felt most authentic to the story.

SUSANNA: You were wise to do that! Stories take time to evolve and mature! When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

ASTRID: I submitted the manuscript for a critique at the SCBWI Summer conference in 2020, and didn’t expect anything but to get a professional opinion. I certainly did not expect that conference submission to result in signing with an agent or getting a book deal. However, Karen Grencik, who is now my wonderful agent, loved the MS and offered to represent it. So out on sub it went!

SUSANNA: What a wonderful “how I got my agent” story! When and how did you submit?

ASTRID: We submitted to 5 publishers total. I received an R&R from Karen Boss, and after I made the suggested revisions, she acquired it.

SUSANNA: How long after you found out about your book going to acquisitions (if you did) or after you submitted were you told it was a “yes”?

ASTRID: Within two months of resubmitting, I heard it was going to acquisitions, and around one month after that I received the offer from Charlesbridge.

SUSANNA: When did you get “the call”, which these days is more likely to be “the email”?  (Best moment ever! 😊)

ASTRID: The total time between our first submission to the 5 houses and the news of the offer was within about 7-8 months, which I now understand is pretty fast for the publishing industry.

SUSANNA: How long was it between getting your offer and getting your contract to sign?

ASTRID: About two or three months.

SUSANNA: How did you celebrate signing your contract?

ASTRID: I signed the contract sometime after two very different but equally life-changing events in my life–the 2020 war in Artsakh, and the birth of my second child. So I felt deeply grateful for the people in my life and for being given an opportunity to tell an Armenian story with Artsakh dialect woven through it. That deep, deep feeling of gratitude was my celebration.

SUSANNA: Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.?

ASTRID: The contract stated 15 author copies, but then Charlesbridge added 2 more, and they are very supportive with sending copies for promotional purposes (giveaways, bloggers, etc.).

SUSANNA: Can you tell us a little about the editorial process?

ASTRID: We added a scene which is one of my favorites now (inspired by real chicken in my life 😊).

Karen Boss is a terrific editor, and she guided the process in a way that allowed the book to be its best version and me to be my authentic self. I didn’t have to change it to fit expectations or the market, we just made the book what it wanted to become, so the editing rounds went by quickly. What I also enjoyed about the editing process is that I moved back to Armenia during that time. This added even more flavor to the book, as I was able to attend carpet-weaving workshops, meet the experts when needed, be with my family, and truly indulge in the beauty of Armenian culture.

SUSANNA: That must have been wonderful! What was your experience of the illustration process like?

ASTRID: Anait’s illustrations are sunshine on a page!

text copyright Astrid Kamalyan 2023, illustration copyright Anait Semirdzhyan, 2023 Charlesbridge

I was so incredibly lucky with everything related to the illustration process of this book. Charlesbridge was very open-minded and generous as they allowed me to proactively suggest an illustrator. I let my agent know there’s an Armenian illustrator, Anait Semirdzhyan, whose work I admire and who would, in my opinion, be a perfect fit. She shared that info with my editor and they all loved her gorgeous art.

I wouldn’t be so brave if it wasn’t a book about my culture. But in this case, authentic representation was my top priority and I was willing to take a deep breath and just give things a try.

text copyright Astrid Kamalyan 2023, illustration copyright Anait Semirdzhyan, 2023 Charlesbridge

You will see the joy, the beauty, the sunshine when you read the book. Anait’s characters are living, breathing people, her style is so unique, and I think it’s also her beautiful personality that comes through the pages.

SUSANNA: She sounds like the perfect match for your story! Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc? What was that like?

ASTRID: I feel honored that BÁBO has received starred reviews from Kirkus and The Horn Book, and is a JLG Gold Standard Selection. The most exciting part was (virtually) high-fiving Anait when we heard good news. For communities that are underrepresented in kidlit, like ours, seeing support for our stories is inspiring. It sends a signal that our voices are being heard.

The last time (I know of) a picture book about Armenia was traditionally published in the US was more than three decades ago, books by the wonderful Nonny Hogrogian. Her ONE FINE DAY, based on an Armenian folktale, received the Caldecott Medal in 1972.

SUSANNA: Congratulations! It is quite an accomplishment to get such a great reception! How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand?

ASTRID: About 2 years? It was an incredible feeling. Even though I have read the book countless times, having the physical copy in my hand and reading it with my kids was an entirely different experience. For a moment, I was no longer homesick, I was at home.

SUSANNA: What kind of marketing and promotion has your publisher done for this book?

ASTRID: A few friends have sent me photos of ads for BÁBO they saw in PW. It was fun to see because I had no idea this was planned. They are also so supportive with all the ideas I share! But I need to do a better job at understanding how marketing works in publishing, because it’s such a specific and different industry.

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

ASTRID: I am very lucky in that I belong to two incredible communities–the kidlit community and the Armenian community. And thanks to the kindness of kidlit creators like you I do have a blog tour. Thank you so much, Susanna, for being one of the very first people to support me and for hosting BÁBO’s Book Birthday today!

And thanks to my friends in the Armenian community, I will also be having a book launch party in LA, on September 30th, organized by YourTeam Marketing and supported by Abril Bookstore.

Akoonk Media created the book promo video the minute they heard there’s an Armenian book coming out. Their idea, and their incredible execution!

There are requests for author visits from Armenian schools, churches, and libraries. Most contact me through my website, which made me realize (yes, this late!) that an author website is a useful tool. A young Armenian artist, Anna Ambardanyan, has created the art for the website homepage, so I blame it all on her that it attracts attention 😊

There is just a lot of excitement in the community, which I am deeply grateful for!

SUSANNA: It is my pleasure to be among your many supporters, Astrid! How long was it between the time you started writing seriously and the time you sold your first picture book?

ASTRID: It was in 2017 when I felt, for the first time, that I wanted my words to be published. I still didn’t know how it all works until I attended the SCBWI LA Conference in 2018. And in 2021 I signed my first contract.

SUSANNA: What is the most important/helpful thing you learned on your way to publication? (Or what is your most helpful piece of advice for up and coming writers?)

ASTRID: In conversations, I used to say that “I am trying to write”. And once I got corrected. “I’m a writer.” was what I needed to tell people. Back then it felt strange to do so, because I was pre-agented and pre-published, but I still followed the advice. I think that one seemingly small change in the way I talk about myself has created a huge shift in the mindset. Do you write? Then you are a writer!

SUSANNA: That is wonderful advice! Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers, Astrid! We so appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge and experience with us so we can learn from it, and it’s been a treat to get a peek at your beautiful book! Here’s wishing you all the best with this and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Astrid, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond! And remember, your comment puts you in the running for the giveaway: winner’s choice of either a Picture Book Manuscript Critique OR a 30 Minute Ask Me Anything if you leave it by Monday September 25th at 5PM Eastern!

Author Astrid Kamalyan

Website: https://astridkamalyan.com/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/astridkamalyan
IG: https://www.instagram.com/astridkamalyan/

You may purchase Astrid’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Indiebound
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our debut authors successfully launch their careers by:

– purchasing their books

– recommending their books to friends and family

– recommending their books to our children’s teachers and librarians

– recommending their books to our local libraries and bookstores

– suggesting them as visiting authors at our children’s schools and our local libraries

– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 😊

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out HERE!