SIMON SAYS – Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Five – Types of Presentations
July 29, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Simon Says, for children's writers
Many authors who conduct school visits on a long-term basis have a well thought out set of presentations, workshops and other material. These might be related to their own books, but also to topics such as editing and revision, for example. Authors might talk about where they get their inspiration, character development or just how a book comes together, and whenever possible they leave time for questions from the children.
In addition to the subject matter of my own books, I cover such topics as where ideas come from, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, the superhero genre, history and research and more. I will present to up to a hundred students at a time, although the smaller the audience the more participation from children, as a rule. I also consider workshops with smaller groups or individual classes. A list of some of the presentations I offer can be found here, but I am always happy to discuss matters with teachers to design sessions to best serve the needs of their students.
An important thing to consider when deciding to host an author visit is what type of presentation you’re looking for. There are usually numerous types to choose from and all authors are different in this regard. Are you looking for an author who will just read to the children or only be there to answer questions from the students, either about their book or about writing in general? Perhaps there’s part of the school curriculum that you would like to emphasize and the author’s books are related to it in some way? Is there a project the students have been involved in to which the author can contribute, either by assisting them in getting started or in bringing it to a satisfactory conclusion? Are you looking for workshops, in which you want the children to actually do some writing or would you like them just to listen to a presentation? Are there particular general topics on writing, rather than those related to the subject matter of the books, that you want the author to focus on? Do you want small groups in classrooms or the library or a hundred or more children in the school gym? How long do you want the sessions to be, to fit in with the normal schedule of the school day? Do you want the author to actually teach the children something or simple appear almost as a celebrity guest to inspire them? These are all important things to consider when planning an author visit and ensuring that it all goes smoothly.
SIMON SAYS – Author Visits Part Four – Booking an Author
July 25, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Simon Says, for children's writers
There are a variety of ways to book an author. Personally, I deal with all the school bookings myself and all inquiries come to me either directly via e mail or through my website and other places online, such as my blog, Facebook, and other sites.
Most authors have websites these days, which usually contain some kind of contact details, even if the authors don’t administer the sites themselves. With other authors, you may have to contact the publisher, or if they aren’t able to help, the author may have an agent or even a publicist who looks after all their personal appearances, including signing events, school and library visits.
If you still have trouble locating contact information for the author of your choice, you can look into writer’s organizations that the author may belong to or is somehow affiliated with. Perhaps your chosen author or illustrator is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators or SCBWI, which you can contact via the national office or the relevant chapter either in your own area or in the area where you know your selected author resides. SCBWI can be reached at www.scbwi.org and you can usually easily locate other writing groups on the Internet. Depending on the author, do be prepared to not hear back right way. If you are contacting an agent or publicist, they may be dealing with a number of different clients and their schedules and may simply be very busy, so be sure to give yourself plenty of lead time when planning the visit or event.
SIMON SAYS – Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Three – Choosing an Author
July 14, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Simon Says
How you choose an author to visit your school is entirely up to you. You should make a wish list of authors that you’re interested in. Maybe there’s a book that the students have been studying in class or for projects or perhaps an author has just received an award for their latest novel? Perhaps the author is a prolific writer of non-fiction on topics such as volcanoes, earthquakes and other natural phenomena and this fits in well with what the children in a particular grade have been studying? Maybe you’re looking for an illustrator to talk to the younger grades about picture books? Your reasoning might even be related to those books that are always very popular in your school library. Perhaps you’re considering someone who has written books about local history or culture? In the past, a school has contacted me following a referral from another school in the same district. On other occasions, teachers have moved to a different school and recommended me to their new principal or librarian.
My own books are in the science fiction and fantasy genre, but also deal with history, with The Sorcerer’s Letterbox and The Heretic’s Tomb set in the Middle Ages, which fits in with the curriculum at many schools who are covering the medieval period in certain grades. The Emerald Curse involves the superhero gene and some schools see a good connection with children who are learning about heroes and villains. The Doomsday Mask features the legend of Atlantis and ancient artifacts and this fits in classes where children learn about civilizations such as Greece, Rome and Egypt. The Clone Conspiracy involves scientific experiments and some schools have adapted this to science classes, while The Alchemist’s Portrait features art galleries and museums, which some teachers have found useful when running classes about fine art or organizing field trips to local museums and galleries. Both girls and boys in equal measure enjoy my books, but some teachers and librarians also utilize my novels as excellent resources for reluctant boy readers and this is sometimes a factor in my securing bookings as well. Whatever your motivation and preferences, there’s usually an author out there who will fit the bill and who you can investigate inviting to your school.
SIMON SAYS – Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Two – The Benefits of an Author Visit
July 9, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Simon Says
Many teachers and librarians like to host artists in a variety of disciplines at their schools each year. They know that an author visit can be inspirational, boosting student creativity and encouraging children with their own writing. And for the author, meeting their readers can be one of the most enjoyable elements of a school visit. Younger students especially are almost always thrilled to meet a published author, especially if they have read and enjoyed their books.
Examples of comments from children about my own school visits over the years can be found here, while teacher and librarian comments are here.
School and library visits offer an invaluable opportunity for authors to connect with their readers on a personal level and in some cases they can make a real difference in children’s lives, stimulating their imagination or simply getting them more interested in books and reading. Visiting a school allows an author to talk about his own work, his inspiration, any current or future projects, answer questions, sell some autographed copies of books, and even present himself to an entirely new audience or geographic area. An author visit can also be very beneficial to the school, inspiring the students and may also encourage some of them to explore their own artistic creativity, whether this involves writing, illustration, painting, poetry, sculpture, photography, film or another discipline altogether.
There’s no question that an author visit is usually one of the main highlights of the school year, for both the staff and the students.
SIMON SAYS – Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part One – Making Plans
July 1, 2010 by Writing for Children
Filed under Simon Says
Ah, the summer is finally here. Traditionally, July and August are the months when people look forward to relaxing with friends and family, taking vacations and day trips in the warmer weather. For teachers, summer usually means a more lengthy time away from the workplace than most people, but many of those employed in the teaching profession spend at least some of the summer preparing for the next school year. July and August is often a good time to think about the fall, since the start of the school year can sometimes entail a chaotic couple of weeks before everything settles down. When teachers are preparing lesson plans and thinking about the kinds of things they might like to do in the classroom once classes resume, some might consider having an author visit the school.
For the next set of articles here at Simon Says, we’ll take a look at the benefits of hosting an author at your school, how you find an author who conducts presentations and workshops and how you choose a writer who is the most suitable guest for your school and for your students. We’ll also examine how much it might all cost, what kind of work will be involved for you to set everything up as the coordinator and what you can expect to have to do when the author is actually in your school. Over the next few weeks I’ll be answering some of these questions and providing tips and advice for teachers when planning an author visit at your school, in the fall and beyond.
