Shachi Kaushik is a 2021 graduate of our Children’s Media program who recently published her first book, Diwali in My New Home – an illustrated children’s book that centres around the Diwali holiday through the lens of the main character, Priya, who moves to a new country where the holiday is not as widely known. “The story gives hope that culture and traditions live on. No matter where you are, you should embrace their culture,” Shachi shares.
While creating this book, which included many drafts and revisions, Shachi explains that her critique partners played an important role in polishing her manuscript. “They’ve seen all the drafts of this manuscript. Finally, when the manuscript was ready, my agent, Lynnette Novak, at The Seymour Agency, started submitting my book to the publishers. Finally, the book was bought by Beaming Books, and my editor, Andrea Hall, made my manuscript into a beautiful book through her revision process.”
Shachi’s vision for the book came to life by illustrator Aishwarya Tandon, who Shachi says captured and brought all of the elements of the Diwali holiday into the book. “It is colourful and beautifully detailed. The illustrator and art director did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life. Aishwarya has added her elements and touch to the story with her art and has given life to the character Priya,” she shares.
As for what she hopes readers can get out of her book, Shachi says, “Diwali, the festival of lights, is a beautiful holiday. Through this book, I want to share
- The celebration of Diwali with those unfamiliar with the holiday.
- Embrace your culture where ever you go.
- As we live in a diverse world, people to open their doors and windows and build a more inclusive community.”
Before enrolling at Centennial, Shachi worked as a bilingual storyteller at the Round Rock Public Library where she hosted Hindi English Storytime for children. It was there where she says she began her journey of writing picture books for children, and Diwali in My New Home was on submission by her agent.
“For several years, the Round Rock Public Library hosted a Diwali celebration for children. Every year the celebration grew bigger and bigger, and seeing the smiles on the children’s faces brought me a lot of joy. I wanted to share the holiday with the community beyond the Round Rock Public Library. Hence I wrote the book Diwali in My New Home,” she explains.
It was around this time that Shachi says she wanted to expand her horizon on children’s writing, which is when she discovered the Children’s Media program. “The course gives exposure to all the different parts of the industry. One can learn about production, app development, writing, marketing, licensing and merchandising, and much more,” she explains.
Shachi took the program online, and its delivery brought several great qualities along with it, as she shares, “It was wonderful to take classes together from all around the globe. My favourite part about the program was meeting and being friends with the most amazing creators. Ours was a diverse batch, and we all had wonderful stories to share.”
She continues, “The program gives you an overall picture of the children's media industry. Each class is designed so that one can get their creative mind running. From production to development and writing, branding and marketing, and understanding the business, this program prepares you for all the different aspects of the children's media industry. The assignments give you hands-on experience working in the real world.”
As for the key lessons that she took from the program and that she uses in her career today, Shachi adds, “Working on the production team and as a writer, I always focus on the parameters I learned in the Child Development Course. Making content that is entertaining and enriching. I used the insights from the marketing course to launch Diwali In My New Home.”
To help support authors, including Diwali In My New Home, Shachi outlines that you can buy and share the book with friends, leave a review on websites such as Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon, and ask your library to add it to their bookshelves.
Congratulations, Shachi, on writing an outstanding book, and we are thrilled to follow along in your writing journey!
Article by: Alexandra Few
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