Welcome to Tuesday Debut, Everyone!

We have such a special debut today!

Today is the actual book birthday of ELSA’S CHESSBOARD, so Happy Birthday to the book and to author Jenny Andrus and illustrator Julie Downing! 🎉 🎉 🎉

celebratory cake!

And wait until you hear all the details of this book – an amazing story!

But first, real quick, we have a giveaway winner to announce!

The winner of Christina Shawn’s giveaway from last week – winner’s choice of either a written critique of a fiction picture book manuscript (up to 750 words) or a 30 minute AMA Zoom call – is. . .

KATHY HALSEY!!!

Congratulations, Kathy! Please email me so I can get you together with your prize!

And now we have a new giveaway for this week! Today’s debut-ess, Jenny Andrus, is offering a signed copy of her book, ELSA’S CHESSBOARD, and a portable chess set and how-to brochure, perfect for travel! How cool is that?! All you have to do to qualify to be entered into the random drawing is leave a comment on today’s post by Monday May 5th at 3 PM Eastern!

And now, because I know you’re on pins and needles waiting to hear this amazing story, let’s meet the lovely and talented Jenny Andrus and get a look at her beautiful book, ELSA’S CHESSBOARD!

Title: Elsa’s Chessboard
Author: Jenny Andrus
Illustrator: Julie Downing
Publishing House: Neal Porter Books / Holiday House
Date of Publication: April 29, 2025
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
Age Range of your book: K through third grade+

Elsa from Vienna, Austria, brings her chessboard everywhere. During World War II, the chess whiz flees to San Francisco, a city of strangers speaking unfamiliar languages. Luckily, Elsa’s chessboard has a way of bringing people together.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Jenny! Thank you so much for coming to chat with us today. We’re so excited to hear about your journey to publication with ELSA’S CHESSBOARD! Where did the idea for this book come from?

JENNY: I was very close to my grandmother growing up. Born in 1900, Elsa (or Oma, as we called her) started playing chess at age 6, at a time when few girls played. Throughout her long life, chess was a passion and a way to connect with people–usually as the only woman in the room. I knew I wanted to write a story based on her life.

Jenny with her Oma

I had lots of ideas rattling around in my head but nothing on paper. That changed when I took a Stanford University continuing education class entitled “Writing with Humor and Emotion: Capturing the Hearts of Young Readers.” We were given a prompt: What can’t your character live without? That was my “aha” moment: Oma couldn’t live without her chessboard. Having a thread to tie the pieces together helped me get started.

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book and for it to be published?

JENNY: I started writing the book in April 2021.  Ten months later, it was accepted for publication by Neal Porter Books/Holiday House. My book launches on April 29, 2025, almost exactly four years from the day I started writing.

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

JENNY: Yes! I don’t have an exact number, because one draft blends into the next. I tend to obsess over each word, which makes it feel like I am in a constant state of revision.

Jenny’s workspace – what a view!

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

JENNY: I shared early drafts with my critique group and with a few friends. Once I felt confident, I sent the manuscript to a handful of publishers accepting un-agented manuscripts. Into a black hole it went! I started working with a freelance editor who identified a key issue with my manuscript: It needed a stronger story arc. It was back to the drawing board, but after many more drafts, we both felt it was ready for submission.

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

JENNY: My road to publication was unusual and also incredibly lucky. The freelance editor I worked with suggested that I reach out to Julie Downing, an illustrator she knew and whose work I admired. Julie loved the story and recommended it to her publisher, Neal Porter.

SUSANNA: When did you get “the call”, which these days is more likely to be “the email”? 

JENNY: I heard from Julie that there was interest in “the chess book.” An email and phone call with Neal Porter soon followed. I was beyond happy! I loved telling my family about it, especially my 90-year-old dad who had been Elsa’s son-in-law and sometimes chess partner. If possible, he was even happier than I was.

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

JENNY: This was all new to me.  At the time, I didn’t have an agent. Fortunately, the contract was straight-forward, and the terms (advance, royalty, etc.) fell in line with industry standards. I felt confident signing, because I knew the book was in great hands.

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

JENNY: Julie was able to convey so much through her drawings that some words and descriptions were no longer necessary or needed minor tweaks. The publisher asked me to create a chess resource list for the backmatter. I enjoyed putting it together and hope it will be helpful to chess-playing kids and their families.  

SUSANNA: What was your experience of the illustration process like?

JENNY: Since Julie and I both live in San Francisco, we spent an afternoon at my house looking through old photo albums and talking. Julie went on to research countless details, including clothing, furniture, hair styles, and chess games. She even traveled to Vienna, Austria, to sketch scenes from my grandmother’s childhood. It is amazing to see the neighborhood where the family lived recreated in the book, 120 years later. 

text copyright Jenny Andrus, 2025, illustration copyright Julie Downing, 2025, Neal Porter Books/Holiday House

An interesting issue came up with the depiction of Elsa’s wedding in Vienna. Julie originally portrayed it as a traditional Jewish wedding. Knowing my grandmother, it seemed more likely that the event was simple and secular. Julie came back with a second drawing, which is the one that ended up in the book. Both illustrations were beautiful, but the second one felt truer to Elsa. The artistry and attention to detail from both illustrator and art director made this a dream process.

text copyright Jenny Andrus, 2025, illustration copyright Julie Downing, 2025, Neal Porter Books/Holiday House

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

JENNY: The publisher has been proactive, including sending digital ARCs to book reviewers and promoting the book at trade shows and conferences. As a former school librarian, I’m excited that the Holiday House team is producing an educator’s guide.

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

JENNY: I started a promo group with other writers, all of us working with agents at the same agency. Some of us are debut authors, others are more experienced. I’m learning so much, including getting a crash course on social media.

So far, I’ve set up a blog tour. Thanks, Susanna, for being one of my first stops. I’m also scheduling bookstore and school visits, and I’m doing my first YouTube interview with a chess pro/educator. I met him when I was compiling the chess resource list.

SUSANNA: My pleaure, Jenny! What is the most important/helpful thing you learned on your way to publication?

JENNY: Being part of a writing community is so important to me. In addition to the promo group, I belong to a critique group that meets once a month. The opportunity to give and receive feedback helps me grow as a writer. I also enjoy taking classes. I recently finished a wonderful 6-month nonfiction series at the Writing Barn. I used to imagine writing as a solitary pursuit, but one of the joys has been meeting other people on similar journeys.

SUSANNA: Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

JENNY: Our book launch party is May 8th in San Francisco, and Julie and I are having fun planning it. We’re making black and white chess cookies! Details are on my website: jennyandruswrites.com

SUSANNA: That sounds like so much fun. Thank you so much for coming to visit with us, Jenny! What an amazing story this is! I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say thank you for all you shared and all best wishes for this and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Jenny, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond! And remember, your comment qualifies you to be in the running to be the randomly selected winner of Jenny’s generous giveaway of signed copy of her book and a portable chess set and how-to brochure, perfect for travel, if you leave it by Monday May 5th at 3PM Eastern!

Author Jenny Andrus

INSTAGRAM
Jenny: @jennyandruswrites
Jenny: @andrussf

BLUESKY
@jandrus.bsky.social

FACEBOOK
@jenny.andrus.94

INSTAGRAM:
Julie Downing: @juliedowning
Red Fox: @redfoxliterary
Holiday House Books: @holidayhousebks
Neal Porter Books: @nealporterbooks
Taylor Norman: @taylornorm

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

Indiebound/Bookshop.org
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!