helpful tips
Personal appearances by authors and illustrators can enhance students' learning and enrich your curriculum.
If you are thinking of booking an author visit, first determine what you want from the appearance. Do you want the author/illustrator to speak to all the students or just a segment? Do you want small intimate groups or will large auditorium events reach your goal? Do you want a writing, drawing, or creativity workshop?
In addition, before contacting an author, please determine:
- Your budget. You'll need to consider: The author's honorarium, travel (if not local, this will include airfare, cabs, hotel), meals and other possible expenses
- How extensive an event you want to plan, and which of your colleagues will need to be involved to make the event successful.
- A sample schedule for the day
A successful author visit involves advance planning and making connections: Connections with books (have your children read the author's books before the visit), connections with your curriculum (see Tom's free activity guides to connect his books with curriculum), and connections with the school/library/community (get the PTO involved, inform parents, possibly invite parents).
Suggested checklist for planning an author visit
3-9 months in advance
- Select the author, determine availability and cost
- Talk to the author about their presentation; be sure it meets your needs and goals for the event.
- Get funding approved
- Set date and times. Consider other school events when selecting a date.
- Sign a letter of agreement or a contract
1-3 months in advance
- Set the schedule for the visit; consider how the author's day will be spent (time for breaks? lunch?); submit schedule to other faculty for their involvement
- Contact the author for photos, biographical material to enhance the appearance
- Make a list of special equipment or materials needed
- Prepare teachers' resources
- Be sure teachers have a copy of author's books
- Order copies of books that extend the topics
- Prepare teacher packets to include author bio, web pages, a list of author's work, activity guides that correspond to author's work, etc.
- If you are planning a book sale/signing, plan:
- When and how the books will be purchased by students and signed by author
- Will parents be invited to the signing?
- Order books from publishers, jobbers or local book store
3-4 weeks in advance
- Confirm all plans with the author
- Create an author information sheet to send home to parents
- Create bulletin boards and other materials to support the event
1-2 weeks in advance
- Talk to the author to confirm all details
- Obtain author's requested supplies and equipment
- Assign colleagues to escort the author, take photos, set up and staff signing
- Schedule staff luncheon with author
click here for information about planning an event with Tom.
