A Novel Idea 2025: Youth Edition

In this presentation, author Sarvenaz Tash will unravel the mystery of how a book gets made, using her 2024 novel The Queen of Ocean Parkway as a case study. She'll discuss the writing and revision work needed to shape a story into a fully-fledged book as well as some ins and outs of the publishing process. Enjoy a Q&A session with the author after the presentation. In addition to her eight books, Tash has dabbled in all sorts of writing including screenwriting, copywriting, and professional tweeting for the likes of Bravo and MTV.

The 2025 Novel Idea Youth Edition, The Queen of Ocean Parkway, tells the story of eleven-year-old Roya, the superintendent’s kid of a regal Brooklyn apartment building. An aspiring reporter, she knows just about everything about the building’s residents. It’s a good distraction from the problems in her own life. But when Katya Petrov, one of her favorite tenants, goes missing, it’s up to Roya and a new friend to make her own headlines as she searches for Katya and attempts to break the Petrov curse once and for all.

Sarvenaz Tash was born in Tehran, Iran, grew up on Long Island, and graduated with a BFA in Film and Television from NYU. She is the author of eight novels (and counting) for kids, young adults, and adults including The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love, A Whole Song and Dance, and The Queen of Ocean Parkway. Though her books run the gamut of genres and age groups, they’re tied together by her strong voice and affinity for joyful, diverse, humorous stories with heart.