Soumela and the Magic Kemenche

In a land where fable meets fairy tale, myths and legends combine to ensure that a young girl triumphs over adversity and is reunited safely with her mother. A sensitive rendering of historical traumatic events taking place in Asia Minor in the aftermath of the First World War, the heroine, Soumela, drawing on her faith, traditions and her mother's love, is given the strength to brave the obstacles in her way, and ultimately, through the choices she makes, to live happily ever after.

Biography of Author:

Dean Kalimniou is a Melbourne writer, journalist and solicitor. He has published seven poetry collections in the Greek language and his short stories have appeared in various publications. This is his first children's book.

Biography of Illustrator:

Stephanos Eleftheriadis is a Graphic Artist of Greek Pontian descent in Melbourne. He has worked as Melbourne's first full time Greek newspaper cartoonist at "TA NEA." His passion for his Pontian heritage has led him to the Soumela monastery in Pontos on many occasions with the highlight being his performance of the Pontic Pyrrhic dance for the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople in 1997.