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JULY 2019
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Tasty
Travels
Authors and
international chefs
collaborate to create
a “compassionate
generation of kids”
BY MATIA BURNETT
S
ommelier Sarah Thomas has
fond memories of her moth-
er’s home cooking: “I used
to hang out under the kitchen
table as a child, listening to my
mom as she cooked, and enjoy
being transported by the aromas
that filled our kitchen.” Thomas
grew up to become the cofounder
of Kalamata’s Kitchen—a multi-
platform brand that publishes
food- and travel-themed children’s
books.
Thomas says that her friend
Derek Wallace conceived of the
idea for Kalamata’s Kitchen and
told her about it, and she was
immediately enthusiastic about
collaborating. Wallace envisioned
a publishing program that would
allow him to share his love for
discovering new foods and cul-
tures with his son. “He had the
idea to do this through a char-
acter, and that’s how Kalamata
was born,” Thomas says.
So far, Kalamata’s Kitchen has
published three children’s picture
books, each of which explores a
different culture through its cui-
sine. The stories are told from