The Asian Women of Achievement Awards 2016 saw a fantastic and diverse shortlist with high-achieving, inspiring winners. Shweta Aggarwal, creator of Dev and Ollie children’s picture book series, won the AWA Arts & Culture Award 2016 and just six months later, she shared with us why the Awards has been such an important experience and how it impacted her career.

‘We all know it takes a lot of courage, hard work, perseverance and in some cases luck to be successful in any industry. But we often forget one very important factor. It also takes a believer, a stepping stone.

The Asian Women of Achievement awards has been my stepping stone. When I was told by several publishers in 2015 that my Dev and Ollie children’s picture book series idea is ‘for a niche market only’, I was disappointed by the narrow mindedness of the industry. I took the plunge and self-published, launching the series with the first book Kite Crazy (based on Gujarat’s Kite Festival). Featuring the first British Asian character in picture books, the series is based on magical journeys to unique, less known festivals in India and around the world. Modern, informative and funny, I truly believed the books have universal appeal.

Thankfully Asian parents were thrilled to know about Dev and Ollie and many loved the book. Dev and Ollie were also fortunate to be featured in various Asian media channels. But my objective was two-fold 1) to promote inclusion and help raise global citizens 2) to add variety to children’s bookshelves so they’re not just reading well but well read.

I recognised that one way to accomplish this was to visit schools and libraries and engage with children directly. Simple. Not really! Being an independent author, schools and libraries are skeptical about your credibility. Some did welcome Dev and Ollie with open arms. But many others weren’t sure. I always knew this was going to be a long and hard journey and was prepared for the ride.

Then landed a pleasant surprise. A previous AWA award winner (and a complete stranger) Tanya Datta nominated me in January 2016 for the AWA Arts & Culture award. Against all odds and fierce competition, I was honoured with the award in May 2016!

Since then I’ve been invited to several schools and libraries, have received some very heart warming messages from children and many lovely testimonials. I’ve also got many more school and library visits in the pipeline.

The photograph above is not used for the purpose of boasting my achievements. It’s a tribute to AWA. The children at Ruislip Gardens Primary School enjoyed the ‘Dev and Ollie’ experience so much, they created an entire display summarising it. Children wrote their own kite stories after the reading session, were proud of their own hand made kites and embraced a festival from another culture.

Given London Book Fair hosted its very first Building Inclusivity in Publishing conference yesterday to address the severe lack of diversity in books AND it’s International Day of Tolerance today AND this display was shared with me today, there couldn’t have been a better day to write this post.

Thank you AWA for being my stepping stone!’

AWA can be a stepping stone for many more talented Asian and Middle Eastern women. Get involved in nominations this year and stay connected for all the details!