From "Awful First Draft" to Multiple Starred Reviews

How do you build an audience for your graphic novel before pub day? Join me for a free masterclass on June 20, 2026: https://kidscomicsunite.com/how-to-la... In this video, I’m speaking with Nadine Takvorian, the author-illustrator of Armaveni, a YA graphic novel published by Levine Querido in March 2026. Armaveni is the fictionalized story about her quest to uncover her family’s history during the Armenian genocide. Nadine laughingly reveals her “awful first draft” and discusses what she did to polish a story that was 20 years in the making. Armaveni ultimately got 4 starred reviews! We talk about: How Nadine went from educational illustration work to creating her debut YA graphic novel Why it took more than 20 years for her dream of telling this story to become a published book The rookie mistake she made before creating a pitch How something on her website unexpectedly caught a publisher’s attention The reader response that made her feel the book had accomplished exactly what she hoped it would Resources that Nadine recommends: Invisible Ink: Building Stories from the Inside Out by Brian McDonald: https://bookshop.org/a/36610/97817360... Carey Pietsch’s Comics Deadline Planner:   / comics-deadline-77633240   CONNECT WITH NADINE Website: https://www.nadinetakvorian.com/ Newsletter: https://www.nadinetakvorian.com/newsl... Instagram, Bluesky, Threads: @nadinetakvorian Buy Armaveni: https://bookshop.org/a/36610/97816461... CONNECT WITH KIDS COMICS UNITE June 20th Masterclass: https://kidscomicsunite.com/workshop/... Upcoming How to Launch Your Graphic Novel course: https://kidscomicsunite.com/how-to-la... The Bookshop links are affiliate links, which means KCU may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!