Asia Society is pleased to present, in partnership with The Culture Tree, our first annual AAPI Children's Literary Festival. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are an integral part of the American cultural mosaic and the group encompasses a wide range of traditions, identities, and cultures. We will celebrate AAPI heritage month with an exciting event featuring readings, meet-and-greet sessions with authors and illustrators, panel discussions, and writing and illustration workshops. The festival will serve as a unique gathering place for writers, illustrators, publishers, and fans of AAPI literary works. 

Our AsiaStore will be packed with AAPI titles for all ages. Each child will receive a sketchbook and drawing kit!

List of events

1:00 PM Book  Reading by Anu Sehgal, author of I am a Lotus.

1:15 - 2:00 PM  Young Voices, Wise Words: An interactive session featuring authors and kids shaping literary futures.

• Aram Kim, author and illustrator of Sunday Funday in Koreatown
• Loan Le, author of A Pho Love Story
• Michele Wong McSween, author of the Gordon & Li Li series

2:00 - 2:30 PM  Book signing and meet and greet with featured authors and illustrators.

2:30 - 3:15 PM  Writing Workshop with Veera Hiranandani, author of Amil and the After.

Whose Story, is it? In this workshop, young writers will learn about character development through the craft technique of point of view. Veera Hiranandani will discuss examples that she has used in her books with different points of view (first, second, and third person). Participants will also learn how and why a writer chooses a certain point of view for their main character,  participating in exciting writing prompts to practice their new skills!

3:15 - 4:00 PM Illustration Workshop with ShinYeon Moon, illustrator of LaoLao's Dumplings.

What’s in their head? In this workshop with ShinYeon Moon, artists will learn how to create a unique portrait of their character. Participants will use symbols to determine their character’s likes (or dislikes), and we will focus on how to best depict a character’s emotions by drawing their expressions.

4:00 - 4:45 PM Cookbook and Recipe Documentation with Priya Krishna, New York Times best-selling author and creator of Priya's Kitchen Adventures.

Culture, Literacy, and Food! Priya Krishna will read from her book, share a recipe, and give tips on how children can document their own recipes. This session will conclude with a yummy dumpling tasting! 

Speakers

Veera Hiranandani is the author of the Newbery Honor–winning The Night Diary and the recently released companion novel, Amil and The After. She earned her MFA in creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She’s also the author of The Whole Story of Half a Girl, a Sydney Taylor Notable Book and a South Asia Book Award finalist, and How to Find What You're Not Looking For, winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award and the New York Historical Society Children's History Book Prize. A former editor at Simon & Schuster, she now teaches in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA Program at The Vermont College of Fine Arts. 

Aram Kim is an award-winning writer, illustrator, and designer of children’s picture books. Aram writes and illustrates stories about universal themes with a distinctive Korean flair. Her published books include Cat on the Bus, ongoing Yoomi, Friends and Family series including No Kimchi for Me!, and most recently, Tomorrow Is New Year's Day, which is about Seollal, a Korean celebration of the Lunar New Year. Her books received several recognitions and accolades including Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year, and The Best Children’s Books for Family Literacy by The Pennsylvania Center for the Book. 

Priya Krishna is a food reporter and video host for the New York Times and the bestselling author of multiple cookbooks including Indian-ish and Cooking at Home. Her stories have been included in the 2019 and 2021 editions of The Best American Food Writing and in 2021, she was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. She is originally from Dallas, Texas, which happens to be one of the busiest travel hubs in the world.

Loan Le is the author of A Phở Love Story, a YA rom-com that earned praise from NPR, POPSUGAR, Bustle, Bon Appetit, USA TODAY, and Buzzfeed. Solving for the Unknown, her next YA contemporary novel and a companion to A Phở Love Story, is slated for Spring 2025. Her speculative short story appears in Firsts & Lasts, a YA anthology from Penguin Workshop. She holds an MFA degree in fiction from Fairfield University, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree. She is a senior editor at Atria Books, a Simon & Schuster adult imprint, where she acquires dark fiction. 

Michele Wong McSween is a mom, author, entrepreneur, and a fourth-generation Chinese American. She resides in Brooklyn, NY, and holds degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Growing up in Sacramento, CA, she never learned Chinese and wanted to be sure her boys were confident with the Chinese language and culture. After enrolling them in early-learning Mandarin classes, Michele looked for appropriate Mandarin bedtime reading and found that little was available. She leveraged her skills as a fashion designer and created Gordon & Li Li with an appealing, simple, modern aesthetic that engages kids and parents alike.

ShinYeon Moon is a Korean-American illustrator and educator based in New York. She holds an M.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in Illustration as Visual Essay. She currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts and Fashion Institute of Technology. She has received accolades from different illustration publications including 3x3 Magazine, Society of Illustrators, and Communication Arts. Her first illustrated picture book, Laolao’s Dumplings, was published in December 2023. Shin's second illustrated picture book, Once Upon a Book Friend will be out in June 2024. 

Anu Sehgal is children’s author and the Founder of The Culture Tree, a cultural literacy and language education company that focuses on South Asia. She has won several awards for the work she has done in cultural literacy. She lives in New York with her husband and her two sons. Anu believes awareness of one’s heritage, culture and language is key for children to become self-aware and confident individuals. She holds an MBA from Yale University and has worked in the corporate sector for almost 15 years. 

 Meera Joshi is the Deputy Mayor for Operations, overseeing New York City’s infrastructure, public realm, and climate portfolio. Everyday, her teams work to expand the City’s open, green and aquatic space, reduce New York City’s building and transportation emissions as well as its waste stream, and protect New Yorkers from the ever-mounting threats from excessive heat and rainwater. In addition to her government transportation experience, Meera served as General Manager for the New York Office of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants and was a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy.
Meera Joshi was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She holds B.A. and J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Partners

The Culture Tree promotes cultural literacy about South Asia through language and educational & cultural programs. Their goal is to create empathy, respect and understanding towards all different cultures and further inclusivity, while still helping address questions about Identity with heritage cultures. They partner with museums, galleries, schools and libraries to implement our classes and programming. The Culture Tree programs include celebration of key festivals and events, puppet shows, bi-lingual storytime, mindful eating, mindfulness and language classes in key South Asian languages. They are also cultural & diversity consultants and advocate for cultural literacy and diversity & equity in children's programming and education.

InAmerica Education was born in 2013 in Philadelphia and grew in New York City, two hotspots for elite education. It was founded by alumni of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School of Business. Our mission and specialty is to help our clients achieve admission to the top private and boarding schools in the United States for grades K-12 as well as top colleges and universities globally. We have provided support instrumental in helping students attend dozens of prominent colleges and universities. We have years of experience providing comprehensive graduate admissions counseling including MBA and PhD admission help. We also match academic and social goals along with transitional support for our students. Our wide-ranging clientele and outstanding consultants have formed a cross-disciplinary global team that makes us one of the best-known consulting companies worldwide. 

Special thanks to our volunteers!
Nikhil Sethi, Sara Vichaidith, Samara Chopra, Emi Dotter Tse, and Sahana Narayan 

We would like to thank Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi and Council Members Shekar Krishnan and Shahana Hanif for supporting this festival. At the event, children will also meet Ms. Joshi and Mr. Krishnan.