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Soumya Ayer

@soumyayerwrites

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Not me straight-up cheesin’ ✌🏼✌🏼 because I finally get to give copies of my FUNCLES book to my Singapore 🇸🇬 @scbwi critique partners, the most ✨WONDERFUL✨ group of writers-turned-friends.

These amazing women have helped me finesse every early draft, cheered me on through every high and low (there have been many🎢!!), and been so generous with their advice and guidance. This book truly wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for this group 🙏🏽

Writing can feel so solitary, but it doesn’t have to be if you find your people!! So eternally grateful I’ve found mine 🥹 Love you all, our Writers Wednesday crew and dearly missing those who were traveling / have moved away 💚🩷💛

#FunclesPB #SCBWI #CritiqueGroups #DiverseBooks #DiverseBooksForKids #DiverseBookshelf #DiverseReadalouds #RepresentationMatters #InclusiveBooks #MulticulturalBooks #Culture #CulturalTraditions #Community #FoundFamily #ChosenFamily #Singapore #SouthEastAsianSetting #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookauthor #picturebookauthorsofinstagram #childrenspublishing #childrensbooks #childrensbookauthor #kidlit #kidlitauthor #childrensbookauthorsofinstagram

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My critique partners in Singapore have received copies of my debut novel, but I’m all the way in Manchester so I couldn’t be there to celebrate with them. Fear not, canva to the rescue 😂😂😂

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We were delighted to welcome members of Singapore Friends of the Museums during their privately curated journey through the Deep South of Tamil Nadu.

From ancient temples and remarkable architecture to the living histories and traditions of the region, their journey reflected the kind of thoughtful, curious travel we always love seeing at @AnantyaInVillage.
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#Anantyaresorts #Anantyainthevillage #Alwarthirunagari #Grouptour

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🇸🇬Singapore photo dump!🇸🇬

What a trip! So many firsts, so many memories! I got to see my book in a library for the first time in my life. I saw my book in a store for the first time (shout out to @wardahbooks ). Won my first award for a book! This trip will be etched in my memories forever (I hope, my memory is terrible, so who knows)

Here are some of the highlights of my trip:

☀️I finally got to celebrate a book release with my writing friends! I released Street Puppy Masjid Cat alone in Manchester all by my lonesome self last year and it was incredibly depressing. It healed something within me to get to celebrate Ritu in the Sun with the writers I’ve been in the trenches with for so long. Ritu in the Sun is a book about light and love, and these amazing, brilliant women are the rays of sunshine that make the publishing industry bearable for me.

🐾 finally getting to meet @wastanahaikal , who is the amazing artist I created Street Puppy Masjid Cat with! One of the weirder things about being a picture book author is that we rarely ever get to meet the artists who illustrate our stories. Artists are contracted by publishers and they usually only liase with the art director. This is mainly because writers can be very opinionated (and often very wrong!) and it’s best for everyone involved if we don’t have direct access to artists. I totally slid into Haikal’s DMs though, even though we’re not really supposed to. And I’m so glad I did, because we get along so well!

📚I got to do my first ever book signing at my launch. Shout out to @closetfulofbooks for arranging it. It was such a surreal experience to sit at a table with a line of readers waiting to get their books signed. I felt like a real author!

🍜 I ate so much amazing food! Here’s my personal list of the dishes I absolutely MUST eat every time I’m back in Singapore:

- chicken rice
- Ayam penyet
- carrot cake
- chilli crab
- prata
- curry puffs
- my mom’s cooking

🏆First time seeing my books on a bestseller list 🥹

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New books being added to the website, daily! There is something for every age group and reading level.
I LOVE all these books! How many have you read?

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Join in for a fun review session with us, for the books ‘The Ghost of Malabar’ and ‘The Secret of Secrets’

@soumyayerwrites

Have you read either of these books?

#childrenslibrary #bookstagram #bookreview #books #childrensliterature

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Expressing heartfelt thanks for the memorable launch of Reach for the Sky in Singapore well before 18 September 2025.
First, to fellow authors and dear friends in our weekly critique group for their support and encouragement to write this story that’s been in my heart to share with children since 2015:
*Our cabin crew (photo #1, from left) @soumyayerwrites, @pippachorley, @mellissasaw.tales, @indianspicebox, and co-pilot author-illustrator and historian-at-heart @sarahangchildrensbooks.
*Not with us at the launch, but cheering us on, @charlessantoso (photo #2), @sabrinashahstories, @yashikamwriting, @monizahossain (#3) and @kwstorysong (#4).
*Our core members who kept me on course since I shared my first flight plan to publish in 2018 (#5, from left, with stars) Namita, @leilaboukarim, @mossypinesclelia, Pippa, @srividhyavenkat, and not in this photo-Charles, Katherine, Barbara Moxham.

The @singaporebookcouncil team provide invaluable support behind the scenes, preparing for SBC programmes, including this book launch : Caroline Wan, Elfarina Roszaini, Ng Wei Lin and intern Chern Huan Yee - Thank you!

I’m grateful to so many in Canada and Singapore for inspiring my creative journey. More soon.

Next stop, Toronto!

#childrenswriterscritiquegroups #nonfictionpicturebooks
#writersjourney #booklaunch #childrensbooks #picturebooks #canadianchildrensbooks

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Onam Ashamsakal from all of us at Team KB! 🌼✨
Discover Kerala beyond the Sadya — through stories that capture its traditions, people, and charm. Perfect picks for 3 -12 age group. 📚🌿

#Onam2025 #Bookstagram #OnamVibes #OnamReads

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What an international children's festival looks like in SE Asia.
🇸🇬 four days, multiple platformed conferencing
🇸🇬 hundreds of delegates
🇸🇬 multiple nationalities
🇸🇬 dozens of sessions, workshops, panels, exhibitions, book launches
🇸🇬 too many glorious creators to fit in one reel
🇸🇬 a lifetime of connections, knowledge, and friendship

Thank you @afccsg and @singaporebookcouncil for making this year's festival a dazzling success. I had an absolute blast

#festivevibes #festival #kidslit #afcc #singapore #authorlife #dimitypowell #childrensbooks #reelsinstagram #reels #childrensauthor #childrensillustrator #kidsbooks #seasia

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"We should eat something!" is an oft heard exclamation in Singapore 🇸🇬. It's a clarion call to gather, share, and savour - not just the local delights but - LIFE.

While I was in one of the most vibrant, eclectic food places on the planet, I sampled some old favourites and a few new sensations I'll be returning for, all with people who LOVE eating!! Bon appetite, Singapore!

🥢 Hainanese Chicken Rice
🥢 Kaya Toast Gelato
🥢 Hawker Bak Kuh Teh (herbal Pork peppered broth)
🥢 Italian, the Grilled Octopus and Fried Sage were divine!
🥢 Hong Kong Pork Congee with Century Old Egg, a comforting fave
🥢 Hong Kong Milk Tea
🥢 Braised Beef and Chicken Curry

Just to name a few ... Returning home nourished and beyond satisfied.

@maxwell_foodcourt
@ficomasseria
@afccsg

#foodphotography #food #foodporn #singapore #singaporeanfood #eatwelllivewell #eatwell #asian #seasia #hawkerfood #streetfood #italiancuisine #highlyrecommended #gelato #chinatown #finedining #hongkongfood #classic #friends #friendship #family

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It was my 10th year at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content @afccsg where my career as a children’s book author began in 2015, when I pitched The Magic Spicebox to Scholastic India. A decade later and 7 books later, I’m grateful for the incredible journey and connections with this conference and to be able to come together with my peers, be inspired, and have the opportunity to inspire others to write and dream and unlock their creativity. I love attending this annual conference with my @scbwi Singapore writers group and this year was extra special - speaking on a panel with @monizahossain and @sabrinashahstories on how we tell universal stories from the margin — way to represent! Congrats to Sabrina on her beautiful book launch for Music Of The Mountains! We had an incredible evening following the flight path of @evelynsuewong and @sarahangchildrensbooks book ‘Ready To Fly’ moderated by @pippachorley. It’s been amazing to be part of this book’s journey and see it take flight! This year, South Korea was the country of focus, and the Korean creators blew us away with their next-level creativity. I loved meeting @tanyalloydkyi and attended her nonfiction masterclass. Denise @closetfulofbooks had the best curation of children’s books as always …and I bought way too many gorgeous books as always! It’s always energizing spending time with fellow writers and creators, with editors, teachers, librarians, readers and aspiring writers! This year’s icing on the cake was my book launch for The Greatest River, and I will spam you all with multiple posts on that very soon ❤️ #kidlit #picturebooks #picturebook #picturebookauthor #childrensbooks #childrenspublishing #childrensbookstagram #childrensbookauthor #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #crafttips #authorsofinstagram #kidlitauthor #afcc #writerscommunityofinstagram #sgevents #scbwi #booklaunch

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My first Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore: DONE ✅! 4 days of craft-building and friend-building - it was so lovely to experience this conference with my fellow writer friends, and also meet new writers across different KidLit genres!

Writing can feel like a solitary endeavor, but I’m grateful to have found my people. Our wonderful group of @scbwi critique-partners-turned-friends is always there to support one another, champion each other, and be the loudest cheerleaders in every room! In awe of all of you and the fabulous writing careers you have built ❤️

So much of my writing is about community, and I feel so lucky I get to live a community-driven life too ✨

#afcc #writingconference #scbwi #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookauthor #picturebookauthorsofinstagram #childrenspublishing #childrensbooks #childrensbookauthor #kidlit #kidlitauthor #childrensbookauthorsofinstagram #kidlitauthorsofinstagram

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