WNBA Debut Authors

In honor of our upcoming event — The WNBA Celebrates Reading: A Debut Fiction Panel — we asked NYC members to share their own experiences as debut authors. Below we have answers from Eileen Donovan.

When did you publish your first book? What was its name?

My historical fiction, Promises, published in July 2019.

Briefly describe your experiences debuting as an author. What parts of the process surprised you, what parts of the process did you enjoy, etc.

Fortunately, my publisher, Waldorf Publishing, included my input in all aspects of the process. The three different editors were always receptive to discussing differences of opinion we had about wording, format, etc.

I was surprised by how long it took to go from contract to actual book. I expected everything to move more quickly. There was always a time gap between each editor. Although once we started, they were quick to respond to my input.

I enjoyed working with the creative director on the cover image. I was pleasantly surprised that he wanted my input and worked with me.

A Debut Fiction Panel — The Participants

Want to hear from other new authors on the literary scene? Come to the WNBA Debut Fiction Panel tomorrow — Thursday, November 17th! Participants include:

Rabeah Ghaffari

Rabeah Ghaffari was born in Iran and lives in New York City. She is a filmmaker and writer whose work has appeared in the Tribeca Film Festival. Her collaborative fiction with artist Shirin Neshat was featured in Reflections on Islamic Art (Bloomsbury/Qatar) and her documentary, The Troupe, featured Tony Kushner and received funding from the Ford Foundation and Lincoln Center. Her most recent feature-length screenplay, The Inheritors, was commissioned by producer/costume designer Patricia Field. To Keep the Sun Alive is her first novel.

To Keep the Sun Alive: A cinematic debut about an Iranian family and their fruit orchard, caught up in the Revolution of 1979.

Stephanie Jimenez

Stephanie Jimenez is a former Fulbright recipient. She is based in Queens, New York. Her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in the Guardian, O! the Oprah Magazine, Joyland Magazine, The New York Times, and more. Her debut novel, They Could Have Named Her Anything, published on August 1, 2019 (Little A).

They Could Have Named Her Anything: Racism, class, and betrayal collide in this poignant debut novel about restoring the broken bonds of family and friendship.

Melissa Rivero

Melissa Rivero was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Brooklyn. A former Emerging Writers Fellow at the Center for Fiction, she is a graduate of NYU and Brooklyn Law School. She currently works as in-house legal counsel at a startup. Melissa still lives in Brooklyn with her family. The Affairs of the Falcóns is her first novel.

The Affairs of the Falcóns: A stunning debut novel about a young undocumented Peruvian woman fighting to keep her family afloat in New York City.

Julia Kardon (Literary Agent)

Julia Kardon was born and raised in New York City. Her first job in publishing, while in high school, was shelving fiction at the fabled Strand Bookstore. After receiving degrees in Comparative Literature, as well as in Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of Chicago, she moved to Prague to teach English for a year. Julia then returned to New York to restart her career in publishing. She joined HSG in 2018 after building a list at Mary Evans Inc and handling foreign rights. She is interested primarily in literary and upmarket fiction and memoir, especially with a focus on identity or with an international lens, narrative nonfiction, journalism, and history.

Her clients include:

• New York Times Best Sellers Brit Bennett and Etaf Rum
• Barnes & Noble Discover picks John Freeman Gill and Leah Franqui
• Center For Fiction Emerging Writer Fellow Melissa Rivero
• Moriel Rothman-Zecher, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, and others.

To RSVP for the panel, click here!